From NYU Athletics
New York University's sixth-ranked women's basketball team clinched at least a share of the University Athletic Association (UAA) title for the second consecutive season after a 72-62 victory at the University of Rochester on Sunday afternoon in Rochester
"I'm super proud of our team for finishing our last UAA road swing with a sweep. They've proven to be road warriors the last few weekends," said head coach Meg Barber. "Winning the UAA on the road is a huge accomplishment and checks off one of our goals for this season. It took every member of our team, our administration, our supporters, and our fans to take another championship this year."
The win is the 10th-in-a-row for the Violets who now hold a 21-2 overall record and 11-2 mark in the UAA, one game ahead of WashU (10-3 UAA) entering the final game of the regular season. A win or a WashU loss next weekend would give NYU its second straight outright UAA crown.
Four players scored in double figures in today's victory, led by Belle Pellecchia's team-high 19 points. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field as the game largely came down to NYU shooting 18-of-22 at the foul line.
Rochester scored the first basket of the game, but NYU followed with a 12-2 run to go up 12-4 after Natalie Bruns' triple with 4:02 left in the opening quarter. The Violets went on to lead 14-9 after the first as Bruns and Jenny Walker scored six points each in the frame.
A three-pointer from Erica Miller put NYU ahead by 12, 31-19, with 3:44 to play in the second, but UR closed the quarter on a 13-4 run which cut its deficit to three (35-32) at intermission.
Caroline Peper's free throws gave the Violets a 14-point lead (56-42) with less than a minute to play in the third, but a 5-0 Rochester spurt in the final 35 seconds of the period brought the hosts back within single digits, 56-47, entering the fourth.
Pellecchia came alive in the fourth, scoring 10 points in the quarter to carry NYU to victory as the Violets held UR to 5-of-15 field-goal shooting in the final frame. NYU has now won three straight games against the Yellowjackets and six of the last seven in the all-time series.
Pellecchia added seven boards, four assists and three steals while shooting 7-of-12 from the field for her team high in scoring.
Walker finished with 16 points (8-of-9 FT), nine rebounds and a block. Peper, a rookie, totaled 14 points and season highs of eight boards and four steals.
Bruns, who broke the program's single-season blocks record this year, swatted three more shots to push her season total to 69. She also chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Miller added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 from deep.
NYU forced 16 turnovers, outscoring UR 15-7 in points off turnovers, and won despite being outscored 38-34 in the paint and losing the battle of the boards 42-34.