The New York University women's basketball team defeated William Smith College 88-56 on Sunday, January 4, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan. The Violets finished the 2015 NYU Holiday Classic with a 2-0 record.

NYU (10-0) is ranked #9 in the most recent D3hoops.com poll and #10 in the USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 poll. The Violets played like their rankings throughout, taking a lead as large as 34 against William Smith (1-7), leading to the eventual 32-point victory.

The Violets controlled every aspect of the game against the Herons. Most noticeably, NYU took advantage of William Smith's 31 turnovers and outscored the Herons 36-9 in points off turnovers. The Violets also held a 21-0 advantage in fast break points and NYU hammered William Smith on the inside, outscoring the Herons 42-22 in points in the paint.

"The defense set the tone in the first half," said NYU Head Coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. "We had some deflections, some steals, made some hustle plays, and we were able to convert baskets out of our press. Offensively, we did a good job of moving the ball, getting it inside-out and being confident shooters."

Overall, the Violets saw contributions throughout the roster with 12 players contributing to NYU's 88 points. Leading the Violets was Kaitlyn Read, who scored a game-high 16 points. The sophomore guard also finished with a game-best-tying six assists and four steals, as well as four rebounds and two blocks.

"Kaitlyn is a great player on both sides of the floor," continued Hall-Gregory. "You know this type of performance is going to come. She impacts games in so many ways, not just with her steals but with her quality team defense and rebounding. She's not just a scorer. She's a playmaker, and that all came together for her today."

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Amy Harioka was the game's second-leading scorer. The sophomore guard chipped in 15 points, four assists and two steals.

- Emily Rowe finished with 13 points for NYU in just 13 minutes. The sophomore forward also pulled down a team-high-tying five rebounds.

- Point guards Melissa Peng and Drew Cabral also contributed for the Violets. Peng dished out a game-high-tying six helpers, grabbed two rebounds, scored three points, and had one steal. Cabral scored six points to go along with five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

- Lindsey Oldshue chipped in eight points and grabbed a team-best-tying five rebounds. She also had two steals.

- Maya Wasowicz and Riley Wurtz impacted the stat sheet for NYU, as well. Wasowicz registered eight points, four rebounds, a game-high-tying four steals, and an assist. Wurtz finished with seven points, three steals and two boards.

The Violets will return to action this weekend when they travel to Waltham, MA, on Saturday, January 10, to open up University Athletic Association (UAA) play at Brandeis University. Action is scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm, with live stats and live video available.