The New York University women's basketball improved to 12-0 on the season with its 70-36 victory over Hunter College on Monday night, January 12, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
The Violets (12-0) entered Monday's contest ranked #8 and #9 in the most recent D3hoops.com poll and USA Today Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, respectively.
 
"Everyone was really motivated," said NYU Assistant Coach Cassandra Loftus. "We played well as a team. Everyone who came off the bench was able to contribute in some way, shape or form."
 
NYU set the pace with a 24-0 run that began at the 9:11 mark of the first half on a layup from Megan Dawe courtesy of Riley Wurtz, and continued into the second half with a pair of made free throws at 19:47, also from Dawe. The junior forward led a balanced NYU scoring attack against the Hawks (5-9) with a game-high-tying 13 points. Overall, 12 players registered points for the Violets. NYU also outscored Hunter 37-6 in points of the bench.
 
"Our starters did a really good job of starting the game and getting our momentum going," Loftus added. "But, the first group that came off the bench really did a great job of taking it even to another level."
 
The Violets also controlled all aspects of the match-up with the Hawks, especially underneath the basket. NYU out-rebounded Hunter 44-31 and outscored the visitors 22-10 in points in the paint and 17-5 in second-chance points.
 
The home squad also reaped the rewards of Hunter's miscues, forcing a total of 28 turnovers and recording 15 steals. NYU outscored the Hawks 31-8 in points off turnovers.
 
HIGHLIGHTS:
 
- The 36 points scored by Hunter was the lowest total given up by NYU since November 18, 2008 when the Violets defeated New Jersey City University 72-32.
 
- Emily Rowe finished with 12 points and a team-high-tying six rebounds.
 
- Amy Harioka and Maya Wasowicz each chipped in eight points. Harioka grabbed four rebounds and had two steals, while Wasowicz had three rebounds and three steals.
 
- Riley Wurtz had a nice all-around game with seven points, a team-best-tying six rebounds, three steals, two assists, and one block.
 
- Kaitlyn Read also turned in a good all-around performance. The sophomore guard chipped in six points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
 
- Melissa Peng played a team-high 23 minutes, recording four points, two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
 
NYU will return to the court when it travels to Cleveland, OH, and Pittsburgh, PA, over the weekend for some University Athletic Association (UAA) action. The Violets begin with a 6:00 pm contest vs. Case Western Reserve University on Friday, January 16 in Cleveland. They follow that up with a 2:00 pm match-up with Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday, January 18 in Pittsburgh.
 
"We're really excited to go forward in the UAA because it's such a great conference," said Loftus. "Our next task at hand is Wednesday's practice and prepare for Case. We're not really thinking beyond that."
 
Live stats (CWRU | CMU) and live video (CWRU | CMU) will be available for both games.