Women's Hoops Bows Out of NCAA Tourney with Opening Round Loss to NYU, 81-62

BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Emmanuel College women's basketball team fell to New York University, 81-62, Friday evening in opening round action of the 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball tournament hosted by Bowdoin College.

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel College, 62; New York University, 81
Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (21-8, 9-2 GNAC)
New York University Violets (21-5, 10-4 UAA)
Location: Brunswick, Maine – Morrell Gymnasium @ Bowdoin College
Date: Friday, March 6, 2020

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Saints opened the contest with a 5-0 flurry before the Violets answered with five straight to even the score at 5-5 following a triple by Katie Foos (Rumson, N.J.).
• Foos gave NYU its first lead of the night with another deep three to make it 12-11 which cued an 8-0 flurry to bump the Violets advantage to 17-11 deep in the first.
• Emmanuel cut the deficit to 19-15 as sophomore Riley Lahiff (Attleboro, Mass.) connected on a jumper to cap the first quarter action.
• New York University blitzed the Saints with a 4-0 spurt to build a 23-15 lead and force Emmanuel to call its first timeout of the contest with 7:59 to play in the half.
• Senior Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda (Cambridge, Mass.) and sophomore Loredana D'Agostino (Broad Brook, Conn.) responded with five straight points highlighted by an old-fashion three point play from Ramirez-Tejeda to get the game back to within a single possession at 23-20 before NYU answered with eight straight points including back-to-back threes by junior guards Alyssa Alvarez (Daly City, Calif.) and Janean Cuffee (New York, N.Y.) to extend the NYU lead to double-figures at 31-20 with 5:36 to play in the second.
• The Saints regrouped with an 8-0 run fueled by a pair of layups from Ramirez-Tejeda to once again make it a single-possession affair at 31-28 at the 3:04 marker.
• At the break, the Violets owned a 36-32 edge led by 12 points from Foos and 11 by Cuffee while Ramirez-Tejeda led all players at the intermission with 13.
• Emmanuel committed 13 turnovers in the first half compared to just four by NYU and the Violets bench outscored the Saints reserved by a 15-0 margin over the first frames.
• The squads traded hoops through the first four minutes of the third quarter to a 44-41 score before Foos and Cuffee connected on jumpers to extend the Violet lead to 48-41.
• A jumper from the top of the key by D'Agostino with 2:40 to play trimmed the deficit to 50-47 before EC junior guard Jamad Fiin (Boston, Mass.) made it a one-point game with a left handed layup at the 1:53 marker to move the needle to 50-49.
• Sophomore Arina Ovchinnikova (Moscow, Russia) gave Emmanuel its first lead of the game since the first, connecting on a jumper from the wing to lift the Saints back on top 51-50 but NYU closed out the stanza with five straight points to carry a 55-51 cushion into the fourth.
• The Violets scored five quick points to open the fourth including a pull-up three on the break from Cuffee to move the score to 60-51, making it an uphill climb for the Saints down the stretch.
• An old-fashion three point play by first year forward Jenny Walker (Sausalito, Calif.) once again extended the NYU lead to double-figures at 63-53 with 7:46 to play.
• The double-digit lead proved to be too much for Emmanuel to overcome as the Violets pulled away late for the 81-62 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Cuffee led all scorers with 24 points on the night while Walker chipped in with 20 points and seven rebounds. Foos also finished in double-figures with 19 points including five three pointers.
• Ramirez-Tejeda capped her Emmanuel basketball career with her nation-leading 23^rd double-double of the season, scoring 20 points to go along with a game-high 12 boards.
• Fiin added 14 points while D'Agstino, Layhiff and senior Kayla Weaver (West Haven, Conn.) each added eight points.
• NYU improved to 3-1 all-time against the Saints and evens the NCAA tournament slate at 1-1, avenging a loss to EC in the 2001 Elite 8.

UP NEXT

• The Saints seasons comes to a close with a 21-8 overall record, marking the 25^th time under Head Coach Andy Yosinoff the team has finished with 20+ victories.
• NYU advances to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball tournament Second Round and will play tomorrow night at 7:00 PM against the winner of the Bowdoin College vs Brooklyn College match-up.