The New York University women's basketball team defeated Swarthmore College 69-49 on Saturday evening, January 3, on the first day of the 2015 NYU Holiday Classic at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
NYU (9-0) entered the night ranked #9 in the most recentD3hoops.com rankings and #10 in the USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 poll. The Violets caused 21 Swarthmore (3-6) turnovers in the first half and raced out to a 41-14 halftime lead behind runs of 20-0 and 13-0.
"Our players have a lot of pride in themselves and our program," said NYU Assistant Coach Cassandra Loftus. "The best part of who we are is our work ethic. We were excited to come back and the players did the work they needed to do during the break."
Amy Harioka, Drew Cabral and Maya Wasowicz each scored 10 points to lead a balanced scoring attack for the Violets. As a team, NYU also controlled the area beneath the basket throughout the game, outscoring the Garnet 22-10 in points in the paint.
The Violets also capitalized on Swarthmore's miscues, outscoring the Garnet 40-18 in points off turnovers.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Fourteen players saw the court for NYU. Nine different Violets scored at least four points.
"It was great that everyone had a chance to contribute," said Loftus. "It wasn't just offense. It was defense, defensive rebounds, and defense in general. This was a good start to our second semester."
- Harioka added three assists and a steal while shooting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
- Cabral pulled down four rebounds and had an assist and a block. The freshman point guard also finished with an NYU Holiday Classic record-tying seven steals.
- Kaitlyn Read joined Cabral with a Classic record-tying seven steals. The sophomore guard also registered seven rebounds, four points, one assist, and one blocked shot.
- Wasowicz added two assists and a rebound.
- Emily Rowe grabbed a game-high-tying nine rebounds. She also had eight points and a blocked shot.
- Megan Dawe chipped in four points to go along with six rebounds and a steal.
- Melissa Peng contributed nine points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
- Riley Wurtz finished with eight points, two assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
The Violets will return to the court tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, January 4, when they tip off vs. William Smith College at 4:00 pm at Coles. Live stats and live video will be available.