The New York University women's basketall team opened its 2015-16 season with a 94-79 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday, November 15, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Kaitlyn Read scored a career-high 32 points for the Violets (1-0). She shot 8-10 from the floor, including a perfect 5-5 from three-point range, and connected on 11 of her 12 free-throw attempts.

"I was just so excited to play and I think maybe my shooting reflected that," Read said.

After the Ducks' Dylan Krause opened the game with a three-pointer, the Violets scored the next eight points and never trailed again.

NYU increased its lead to 54-37 at halftime and took a game-high 20-point lead, 57-37, on a free throw my Megan Dawe with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter.

The Ducks (0-1) managed to cut their deficit to 12 points on several occasions, but never got any closer.

Dawe finished with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. 

"One of the things we've worked on is passing up good shots for better shots, and I think we did that very well today," said Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "I thought we also worked very hard on defense." 

Amy Harioka scored 13 points and recorded a career-high eight assists. Drew Cabral had nine points, one below her career best, while tying her career best with six assists.

"We lost a great point guard in Melissa Peng, who played a lot of minutes for us last year," Hall-Gregory explained. "She's tough to replace, but I thought our young guards did a great job of moving the ball today."
 
Erica Guketlov lead Stevens Tech with 18 points.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Maya Wasowicz contributed 11 points and five rebounds for NYU.

- Riley Wurtz totaled six points, five rebounds, five assists, and a steal.

- NYU shot 52.7% from the field and 61.1% from three-point range.  

The Violets return to action next Saturday, November 21, when they host Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy at 12:00 pm in the first round of the NYU Tip-Off Classic at the Coles Sports Center.