NYU 72 Case Western Reserve 56

The New York University women's basketball team maintained its grasp on the second spot in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings with its third straight victory on Sunday afternoon, February 9. The Violets topped Case Western Reserve University 72-56 at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

The Violets (18-2, 7-2 UAA) controlled the pace of the game throughout in the victory over the Spartans (7-13, 1-8 UAA), specifically dominating on the offensive boards. NYU outscored Case Western Reserve 13-4 on second-chance points.

Overall, despite playing without three regulars, four Violets scored in double-figures. In addition, eight players saw the floor.

Senior forward Alexis Doherty led NYU with 16 points and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds. The performance was the second double-double of her career.

"The identity of this team is that whoever is on the floor is going to compete and going to fight," said Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "Alexis had a big game, but that's nothing different from her. As the season's progressed, she's played better and better."

In addition, NYU clamped down on defense in order to come away with the 16-point victory.

"I'm really proud of holding them to 56 points and 38.0 percent shooting," said Hall-Gregory. "That's the best we've done in conference so far. Defensively, we really did what we needed to do."

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Freshman guard Amy Harioka registered two career-highs with 16 points and six rebounds.

- Freshman guard Kaitlyn Read chipped in 13 points with two rebounds and two steals.

- Freshman guard Jessie Fifield had the best performance of her young collegiate career. She scored 11 points, pulled down five rebounds, blocked two shots, and had one steal in 21 minutes.

- Freshman forward Lindsey Oldshue contributed nine points.

- Junior point guard co-captain Melissa Peng scored five points while adding five assists, four rebounds and a steal.

The Violets will be back on the court next weekend when they host the University of Chicago on Friday night, February 14, for a 6:00 pm tip. They follow that up with a scheduled 2:00 pm contest against #2 Washington University-St. Louis on Sunday.