From NYU Athletics
The defending University Athletic Association (UAA) women's basketball champions are also now the current UAA champions.
The New York University women's basketball team won its second consecutive UAA Championship with an 85-62 victory over Brandeis University on Friday at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility.
The sixth-ranked Violets posted a 12-2 UAA mark to capture their eighth UAA title (4 outright, 4 shared) and completed the regular season with a 22-2 overall record.
Celebrating Senior Day, six team members were honored in a pre-game ceremony: Alyssa Alvarez, Annie Carlile, Zoe Makler, Erica Miller, Brooklyn Shelton, and Jenny Walker.
"I feel like we can finally exhale," said Head Coach Meg Barber. "We started 1-2 in the UAA and there was a lot of pressure on us. But we started winning on the road and at home, and especially here on Senior Night. What a great celebration for our seniors today."
NYU trailed in the game 17-16, but finished the first quarter on a 17-6 run to take a lead it would never relinquish.
The Violets outscored the Judges 18-10 in the second quarter and led 51-33 at halftime.
Brandeis pulled within 14 points, 59-45, midway through the third quarter. But, NYU scored the next five points and increased its lead to 72-47 heading into the fourth.
The lead increased to a game-high 29 points, 85-56, on Carlile's jumper with 2:32 left in the game.
Walker finished with game-highs of 20 points and seven rebounds, a team-high four assists, as well as two blocks and a steal.
"Thinking back to when I was a freshman and our team was picked to finish fourth or fifth or sixth and seeing where we are now speaks to the seniors and what hard work from all the players and coaching staff can do," Walker said. "I've never felt this much love before. It's hard to process now because we have more games to play. I I think it will hit me later."
Miller finished with 13 points, while Belle Pellecchia and Mary Kate Fahey each had 11.
NYU's title clinches an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.