The New York University women's basketball team, ranked #5 by D3hoops.com and #7 by the USA Today, defeated MIT 73-70 in the first round of the NYU Tip-Off Classic on Saturday, November 21, at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

In a tight game throughout, the Violets (2-0) led by as many as 10 points in the first half and eight in the second, while the Engineers (1-1) held one-point leads in both the first and second quarters.

Kaitlyn Read's layup with 4:43 left in the game gave NYU a 68-60 lead. However, MIT trimmed its deficit to two points on a three-pointer by Kara Holinski with 1:27 remaining.

Neither team scored again until Amy Harioka made two free throws with 25 seconds left and Drew Cabralfollowed with a steal on MIT's ensuing possession. Read converted on a free throw with 12 seconds left to give NYU a 73-68 lead before MIT's Liana Ilutzi scored the final points of the game on a layup with nine seconds remaining.

Megan Dawe, who was honored prior to the game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau at the end of last season, led all scorers with 28 points, one below her career high. She shot 9-of-13 from the field, a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line, and added nine rebounds and a steal. Dawe now has 1,045 career points, #13 on the team's all-time list and only one point behind #12, Jennifer Goeke.  

"Entering the game I think we slightly underestimated how quickly they were going to come out, so we had to rely on our veteran presence in order to come away with the victory at the end," Dawe said. "We just want to make sure we use our veteran presence when we have it as an advantage, and today that's what happened."

Read finished with a doule-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while also contributing three assists and three steals.

Holinski led MIT with 23 points.

"The best thing about Megan is, throughout her four years, there's a reason she's so good. Consistently, every day, you know exactly what to expect of her, both in games and at practice," said Head CoachLauren Hall-Gregory. "I thought today that she really demanded the ball and the team was doing a great job of finding her and putting her in a position to succeed."

HIGHLIGHTS:

- Harioka scored 15 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the line, and added three assists.

- Riley Wurtz totaled a game-best seven assists and also had two steals.

- The Violets had a huge advantage at the free-throw line, converting on 27-of-32 shots (84.4 percent), while the Engineers went just 6-of-10 (60 percent). 

"I think MIT is a really good team and has some great leadership," said Hall-Gregory. "I think they outplayed us today. But at the end of the day, it came down to the fact that we've learned how to win."

The Violets return to action tomorrow when they host Springfield College in the second round of the NYU Tip-Off Classic at 12:00 pm at Coles.