Release courtesy of NYU Athletics
New York University's third-ranked women's basketball team held Colby College to 21.7 percent shooting from the floor and 0-for-14 from long range in an 80-37 win at the Brooklyn Athletic Facility on Wednesday afternoon.
The Violets won their fifth straight to start the season, handing Colby its first loss of the year (3-1).
Belle Pellecchia scored a game-high 15 points while Natalie Bruns had 12 and Brooklyn Shelton 10 in the wire-to-wire victory.
"I was really proud of our focus with Thanksgiving being tomorrow," said head coach Meg Barber. "We've been talking a lot about defensive intensity and sharing the ball, and we really crushed those two categories today. I thought it was great to see a freshman step up (Reese Tremitiere) with Jenny Walker coming out of the game (due to injury) and starting the second half for us being really solid inside."
In addition to its stifling defense, NYU racked up 19 assists on 33 made field goals with six players totaling multiple assists.
Erica Miller hit a three-pointer right after the opening tip for the first points of the game, but scoring slowed from there as Colby brought itself within one (7-6) on Caroline Smith's layup halfway through the first.
The Violets closed the quarter on a 15-4 run, however, for a 22-10 advantage after one.
NYU won the second quarter 15-4, holding the Mules without a field goal in the frame (0-for-12), as the hosts led 37-14 at the break.
The Violets posted an even wider scoring margin in the third, 24-6, limiting Colby to 2-of-16 shooting in the period for a 61-20 lead entering the fourth.
NYU's starters got some rest in the fourth and the score tightened a bit, but the Violets still went on to collect their fifth double-digit victory in as many outings.
"We have a lot of talent, but when we go one-on-three we don't exploit anything so its just getting good reps in practice of sharing the ball," Barber said of the team's high assist total. "And our bench play was phenomenal and that's something we've really been focused on as well."
Pellecchia added seven boards, four assists and two steals to her game high in scoring while Bruns posted nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal.
Miller finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from distance while Caroline Peper led the bench unit with seven points.
Tremitiere finished with two points, five boards, three assists and a block, providing quality minutes after Walker went down.
Hanna Thrainsdottir played well as a big off the bench as well, totaling two points, five rebounds, three blocks and an assist.
The Violets shot 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from deep and won the battle of the boards 48-34.
NYU returns to action after Thanksgiving, playing at Brooklyn College on Wednesday, November 30, beginning at 7 p.m.