From NYU Athletics
Kayla Patterson's deep jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining led the New York University women's basketball team to a 54-53 victory over host Brandeis University in University Athletic Association (UAA) action on Saturday, February 24, in Waltham, MA.
The win was the 100th career victory for Lauren Hall-Gregory, who is in her sixth season leading the Violets (15-10, 8-6 UAA).
"I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude," said Hall-Gregory. "This is less about me and more about the amazing people I get to work with every day. From my players to assistant coaches to our administration at NYU, this is about way more than just me."
Patterson scored the final four points of the contest to turn a 53-50 deficit into a one-point win, NYU's second of the season against the Judges (12-12, 4-10 UAA). Earlier this season, the Violets defeated Brandeis 76-64 in Manhattan behind a 23-point, 19-rebound effort from Patterson.
Both squads struggled offensively for the first 30 minutes, with the lead changing five times. Brandeis held a 36-34 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but a 9-0 NYU run to open the period put the Violets ahead 41-36 with 5:52 to play.
NYU still led by five, 45-40, with 4:30 to play, but Brandeis answered with a 9-0 run of its own to go back ahead by four with 2:41 left on the clock. A free throw from Patterson and two more from Kaitlyn Read made it a one-point game, 49-48, with 2:07 left. But, the hosts extended their lead back to three on two more occasions, including a layup from Eva Hart that made the score 53-50 with 1:13 to play.
From there Patterson would be the only player to find the bottom of the net, doing so on a layup with 36.1 left and then the senior forward followed an NYU defensive stop with her heroic jumper to put the Violets back in front with 1.3 left. Brandeis advanced the ball to half court, but couldn't get a shot off in time and NYU held on to give its coach the milestone victory.
Patterson led the Violets' balanced scoring attack with with 14 points and nine boards, while Read scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists, and recorded four steals.
Noel Hodges led Brandeis with 10 points.
NOTABLES:
- Catherine Gould scored seven points and added six rebounds for NYU.
- Both teams struggled from 3-point range as the Violets shot 3-for-18 (16.7%) and Brandeis finished the game 3-for-16 (18.8%) from deep. Gould, Read and Gabby Heinsinger each hit a triple for NYU.
- Eleven of Patterson's 14 points came in the fourth quarter.
- Hall-Gregory is the third coach in NYU women's basketball history to win 100 games. She joins NYU's current Senior Associate Athletic Director Janice Quinn (453 wins) and Esther Foley (159 wins) in the "100-Win Club."
"When this job opened six years ago, I considered it a dream job and I still do today," added Hall-Gregory. "Not only have I been blessed to coach talented basketball players, but each one of them is a great kid, as well. It's really made this enjoyable."