The Violets prolonged their win streak to 13, and reached the Candy 16.
The NYU girls’s basketball crew defeats Greensboro Faculty and Messiah College.(Courtesy of NYU Athletics)
NYU girls’s basketball has superior to the Candy 16 of the NCAA Division III girls’s event after a profitable weekend, selecting up two wins towards Greensboro Faculty and Messiah College. Neither crew may sustain with the Violets as they dominated from tipoff, defeating Greensboro 71-54 on Friday night time and Messiah 62-41 the next day.
This now marks back-to-back seasons that the Violets have gained at the least two video games within the NCAA event.
Past the uncooked numbers, the Violets’ success this season has been acknowledged by the College Athletic Affiliation. The crew almost swept the convention’s awards with junior ahead Natalie Bruns profitable UAA Girls’s Basketball Participant of the 12 months, sophomore guard Bella Pellecchia selecting up her second straight Defensive Participant of the 12 months and first-year guard Caroline Peper bringing in Rookie of the 12 months honors after her phenomenal marketing campaign.
Bruns was the one participant within the UAA this season to rank high 11 per recreation in factors, rebounds, field-goal proportion, assists, blocks and steals. She additionally broke the NYU single-season block document this yr, and recorded a triple-double in a 77-52 win over Carnegie Mellon on Jan. 27. Her stats included 16 factors, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks, which tied the UAA single-game block document.
“It’s clearly very thrilling, particularly with the extent of expertise that was within the league this yr,” stated Bruns of profitable Participant of the 12 months. “This award made me grateful for my crew — they had been extremely supportive and proud when it was introduced, and I might not have gained the award if I didn’t have such proficient teammates and coaches.”
Bruns confirmed her expertise this weekend in each video games. On Friday towards Greensboro, she registered 29 factors and managed the glass with 15 rebounds. The Satisfaction tied it at 7-7 within the first quarter, however after that it was all Violets. They led by as many as 23 factors and even outscored Greensboro 46-24 within the paint, with Bruns taking part in a crucial position in that.
“My teammates continued to get me the ball after I was making pictures,” stated Bruns. “We’re actually versatile so when our 3-point pictures aren’t hitting, we’re going inside.”
NYU didn’t cease there, because the crew took on Messiah someday later and as soon as once more dominated the courtroom. Regardless of one other poor efficiency from three, going 1-10, NYU outscored Messiah by 16 within the paint. The Violets additionally held the Falcons to 0-8 from three and 19-61 from the sector. NYU restricted Messiah’s transition offense as nicely, and held them to zero fast-break factors. Senior Jenny Walker led the crew with 24 factors and added 9 rebounds of her personal.
As of their win towards Greensboro, NYU as soon as once more led for almost all of the sport. After the Falcons began the sport on a 4-0 run, the Violets responded with a 10-0 run and by no means seemed again, main the remainder of the way in which. The Violets’ greatest lead was by 27 factors within the fourth quarter, and the sport was one other runaway victory for a really resilient and well-coached NYU crew.
“We positively got here in with a defensive recreation plan and a defensive mindset,” stated head coach Meg Barber after the sport.
NYU will face a formidable Trine College crew on Friday, who defeated Washington College 79-69 in its first spherical matchup. The Violets cut up the season sequence towards WashU this yr, displaying how robust this Thunder crew is. NYU could have their arms full with Trine’s Sidney Wagner, who’s averaging nearly 15 factors per contest and a powerful 2.2 steals per recreation.
Regardless of the uphill battle to the Elite Eight, the Violets stay assured of their championship goals.
“With a win streak, it feels the identical within the locker room,” stated Peper. “We’re simply locked in on our purpose of attending to the nationwide championship. We’re locked in recreation by recreation and able to push the streak.”
Contact Miller Romm at [email protected].