The New York University women's basketball team held Hunter College to just one field goal over the final 5:14 en route to a 61-52 road victory on Tuesday, January 10, at the Hunter Sportsplex in Manhattan.
 
The Hawks (4-8) rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to pull to within one with 7:22 to play. From there, though, the Violets (9-3) outscored them 12-4 – with 10 of those points coming at the free-throw line – to pull out the win in their final non-conference regular-season game of the season.
 
"Our defense in the last five minutes is the reason we won," said NYU head coach Stefano Trompeo. "We held them to one field goal, and when they missed we got the defensive rebound. That was big with us getting ready to play some great posts in the UAA [University Athletic Association]."
 
Free-throw shooting down the stretch was also big for the Violets, with no two opportunities playing a more critical role than the consecutive trips to the stripe by Makenzie Hirz and Cara Bonito. With 5:36 to play, Hirz went to the line for a one-and-one with NYU leading by two, 50-48. The 6-1 center hit both shots to put the lead at four, and after Hunter pulled back to within two moments later on a Megan McKenna layup, Bonito was then fouled and sank both of her free throws, as well.
 
"Makenzie's two free throws were huge in that spot," commented Trompeo. "And for Cara, as the point guard and senior captain, she's going to go to the line. She played the entire game, so for her to bear down and make those free throws shows her mental toughness."
 
McKenna's layup would be the Hawks' last until she made another with just 22 seconds left and the game well out of reach. Meanwhile, after Bonito made it 54-50, she and Melissa Peng combined to go 5-6 from the line the rest of the way to seal the victory.
 
The Violets led nearly the entire first half, but Hunter stayed close and never let the advantage go beyond eight. NYU's 31-26 halftime lead quickly swelled to 13 on a 10-2 run to start the period, but the Hawks chipped away and got as close as one, 49-48, following a 9-2 spurt.
 
After that, though, the Violets' defense took over, and the offense took care of business at the line.
 
"Every win is big – it takes a lot of work and hours just to get one," noted Trompeo. "We're happy getting our ninth win and improving our non-conference record from last year. Now we're into our UAA schedule, and we're going to continue to work hard on defense."
 
Bonito finished with 19 points, one off the career high she established against Hunter last season, while going 8-10 from the charity stripe. Bianca Storts tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while Hirz finished with a season-high 10 points as well as seven boards and a career-high-tying three blocks. Shelby Coon collected a career-best 17 rebounds.
 
Kristen Markoe paced the Hawks with 14 points, six boards, four assists, and three steals. McKenna notched 10 points and six rebounds.
 
NYU returns to the court on Friday, Jan. 13, when it hosts UAA foe Emory University at the Coles Sports Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.