NYU, Bruns burn for two more wins

Mar 10, 2024

Natalie Bruns and No. 1 New York Unviersity have looked unstoppable so far this season.
Photo by Vincent Dusovic, NYU athletics

By Gordon Mann
D3hoops.com

Shortly after New York University’s victory over Millsaps in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division III basketball tournament, Violets head coach Meg Barber made an ominous statement.

“[Natalie] Bruns has gotten better every single year she has an NYU uniform on. I don’t think people have even seen what she’s capable of.”

The Violets had just defeated Millsaps, 78-51, in a game where NYU’s top players had barely broken a sweat. No NYU starter played more than 21 minutes and Natalie Bruns subbed out of the game for good with 6:24 to play in the third quarter, with the Violets ahead 50-29.

Her final stat line – 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks, no turnovers in 20 minutes.

So, how much more is she capable of?

“I think I’m capable of leading of this team to what it’s capable of,” Bruns replies. “We have a lot of skilled players, but making sure that we play as a team cohesively, get the shots that we want, play the defense we know we’re capable of playing.

That’s where I’m still waiting to get to -- leading this team to where we want to get which is national champions.”

Bruns is the centerpiece for a star-studded NYU team that is undefeated, top ranked, and two wins away from that national title.

National champion is one of very few accolades that Bruns does not have yet.

Off the court, she’s a business and technology major at NYU’s Engineering School and, per the team notes, she plays three instruments – piano, double bass and ukelele. On the court, she was a first-team All-American, the UAA Player of the Year, and the Region 4 Player of the Year last season.

This season, Bruns looks even better, and her team definitely is.

After losing to eventual national champion Transylvania in the Elite 8 of last year’s NCAA tournament, NYU added two All-American transfers to a roster that now some have called Division III’s take on the 1992 Olympic Dream team.

After leading Smith College to its first national semifinal and being named the consensus national Player of the Year, Morgan Morrison enrolled at NYU so she could study electrical engineering. Then, dynamic floor general Megan Bauman, who was an All-American at Babson last season, also decided to use her extra year at NYU while studying sports business.

Suddenly, the New York University Violets had three All-Americans, an All-American-in-waiting in 2022 National Rookie of the Year Belle Pellecchia, and several very good supporting players, like Caroline Peper whom the NYU coaches call “instant offense” because of her smooth three-point stroke and innate ability to get open without the ball.

And, as good as NYU’s parts are, the sum is even better.

Morrison is a traditional back-to-the-basket center whose size forces opponents to double team her and whose speed makes them wish they hadn’t. The Violets offense flows inside to Morrison and then back out again, whether it’s to Bauman with her unique sling-shot-style three-point stroke, Pellecchia with her downhill charges to the rim, or Peper or Erica Miller firing away from the perimeter.

And then there’s Bruns, who Barber calls “the most versatile player to ever wear the [NYU] jersey.” On offense, Bruns looks most comfortable facing the basket, like a guard. She also has a long, strong first step to the basket and her shooting touch outside the arc means she can score from anywhere.

Bruns’ strengths are magnified with Morrison inside, and vice versa, in what Barber calls a “lift as you rise” situation. Morrison demands double teams which opens up Bruns outside, and Bruns demands respect from wings which makes it hard to send help to Morrison.

Put it all together and you have a team that is not just unbeaten, but often look untouchable.

After going 25-0, including a perfect run through the tough UAA travel schedule, NYU blew through its first NCAA Tournament four opponents, putting games out of reach with massive leads in the third quarter.

One night after beating Millsaps by 28, New York University demolished No. 15 DeSales on its own floor, 93-59. The Violets led that game by 33 entering the fourth quarter after Peper ended the third with back-to-back threes, the latter coming following a defensive rebound and assist for Bruns.

Over the weekend, NYU led Hardin-Simmons by 30 late in the third quarter before pulling most of its starters, and then the Violets defeated Scranton in a game where Bruns and Morrison played limited minutes but Bauman nearly posted a triple double and was, as Barber describes her, “a coach on the floor” who broke the Scranton press on her own or told her teammates where to go so they could help do so.

The Violets’ two weekend wins were a showcase for NYU’s defense, which held Hardin-Simmons nearly 30 points below its scoring average and then held Scranton to 25 percent shooting. Front and center in those defensive gems was Bruns, whom Barber describes as her defensive “unicorn” -- though she acknowledges she has couple unicorns in her stable right now -- because of her ability to defend multiple positions.

That was on full display during the sectional weekend. In the Sweet 16, Bruns was assigned to cover Hardin-Simmons guard Paris Kiser who was the ASC Player of the Year. After Hardin-Simmons won the opening tip, Kiser drove to the rim for two and Bruns swatted her shot to the delight of NYU’s crowd.

Bruns’ length and athleticism made it hard for Kiser to go by her or shoot over her and, while Kiser led the Cowgirls with 13 points, she attempted five less field goals than usual and five of those 13 came when the game was already decided.

Then, on Saturday, Bruns switched onto Scranton All-American swing Kaci Kranson whose more comfortable scoring on the move around the basket. Bruns’ size kept Kranson from getting the ball around the basket and, when Kranson did drive to the rim, Bruns’ length resulted in off-balance or high-arcing shots that missed the mark.

Barber explains that Bruns’ defensive prowess starts with her being “wildly intelligent” and capable of absorbing scouting reports very quickly. So, she was able to understand and execute the game plan designed by NYU assistant coach Annie Barrett for Kiser on Friday and then do the same with the game plan designed by Nettie Respondek for Kranson on Saturday.

After doing her pregame preparation, Bruns’ physical gifts kick in.

“Bruns is so smart with the way that she blocks shots and alters shots, and just keeps her hands up that I think that it surprises a lot of players. ‘Oh, you’re going to block my three-point attempt?’ I think a lot of players aren’t used to that.”

Opposing players and coaches aren't used to much of what New York University has done this year. While the discussions will be academic if NYU doesn't win two more games this weekend, there are already murmurs about whether this is one of the best teams ever in Division III women's basketball. The Violets themselves know they are on the precipice of something special.

“In my freshman year, we ran into Hope in the Elite 8 and we saw what it took to be that dynamic of a team early in your careers” Pellecchia explained. “Since then, we just aspire to be a team that is just completely unstoppable, and I think we finally came to that point.”

That doesn’t mean the Violets are scheduling their victory party yet, and they haven’t forgotten how last season’s tournament run ended, with that 79-63 loss at Transylvania.

“The bitter taste of the [2023] Elite 8 has been in our mouths since we lost at Transy last year,” Barber recalls. “We have grown a lot, but we are absolutely not satisfied with this win tonight.”