WOMEN'S HOOPS FALLS TO #11 NYU, 77-60

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The New York University women's basketball team, ranked 11th in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, earned a 77-60 victory over Emmanuel College at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan on Saturday night.

"Emmanuel is the best 3-6 team I've ever seen," said NYU Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "They came out and threw the first punch. But, we responded after falling behind 13-2. I have a resilient group and I knew they weren't going to give up."

The Violets (7-0) came out of the gate slow and found themselves trailing the Saints 13-2 with 16:13 remaining in the first half. Overall, NYU shot just 25.0 percent in the first half to Emmanuel's 41.2 percent. Despite the tough start, NYU stormed back to gain the momentum with an 18-2 run of its own. The Violets were able to maintain that run due to strong rebounding, and finished the game with a 45-36 edge in that category.

"We didn't play that well in the first half, but we controlled the defensive boards and that kept us in the game," continued Hall-Gregory. "We kept our composure on offense and kept getting quality shots."

NYU was led by sophomore guard Amy Harioka and junior forward Megan Dawe. Harioka poured in a career- and game-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-of-5 from beyond the arc) and added three steals. Dawe finished with her second double-double of the season and fifth of her career, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-best 12 rebounds. She added two blocks, as well.

"Amy has great defensive energy," said Hall-Gregory. "She just plays great team defense. She shoots it when she's open. She keeps it pretty simple on offense and on defense she just plays really hard. She does the same in practice. I can count on it."

GAME NOTES:

- The Violets made their money at the charity stripe on Saturday, shooting 30-of-35 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line as a team.

- Lindsey Oldshue was the other Violet to score in double-figures, finishing with 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

- Four Violets (Melissa Peng, Kaitlyn Read, Emily Rowe, and Drew Cabral) all chipped in seven points apiece. Peng finished with a game-high seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Read notched a game-best four steals, while registering five assists and four rebounds. Rowe was right behind Dawe with eight rebounds and two blocks. Cabral notched an assist and a steal.

- Sarah Higgins led the Saints with 15 points and six rebounds on the night. Vanessa Bramante added 11 points and four boards, while Devin Rauh dished out a team-high five assists for the Saints.

NYU will return to the court one more time before winter break when it hosts Farmingdale State College on Tuesday night, December 9, at Coles. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm and live stats and live video will be available. The Saints are back in action tomorrow when they face Medgar Evers at 1:00 pm.

*Release courtesy of NYU Sports Information Dept.