Graduate student Katie Titus hit a big milestone, notching her 2,000th career collegiate point, but it wasn't enough as the University of Rochester women's basketball team fell 72-62 to 6th-ranked New York University on Sunday afternoon at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
Titus finished with a game high 28 points, making 11-of-20 shots and grabbing 12 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the year. Her first basket, a layup from the left block, came a minute into the second quarter off a pass from Kelsey Stites, allowing her to reach the 2,000-point mark.
The graduate student is now up to 2,026 career points, with the first 1,512 coming at Division II Daemen College. Titus' 514 points this season are third most in UR single-season history.
Rochester's loss drops the Yellowjackets to 16-8 on the season and 6-7 in University Athletic Association play. #6 NYU sits at 21-2 on the year and clinched at least a share of the UAA title for the second straight season.
Abby Gress chipped in 16 points of the Rochester bench, hitting a pair of buzzer-beating 3-pointers at halftime and at the end of the third quarter. Callie McCulley added six points and 10 rebounds while Maura Leverone had 6 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Four NYU starters reached double-figure scoring, led by Belle Pellecchia's 16 points. Jenny Walker added 16 points and nine rebounds and Caroline Peper scored 14 points with eight boards. Natalie Bruns scored ten for NYU who won its tenth straight contest.
Leverone opened the game with a baseline jumper off a feed from Titus to give Rochester what would be its only lead of the game. Afterwards, the Violets would score 12 of the next 14 points to surge up 12-4 after six minutes of play.
Another Leverone jumper and a Gress 3-pointer pulled UR within three at 12-9, but two Walker free throws in the closing seconds put NYU up by five after one quarter of play.
The second quarter saw NYU build its lead to 12 following a 3-pointer from Erica Miller with 3:44 to play in the half.
Rochester responded with a late run in the second, outscoring the Violets 13-4 the rest of the period to pull within three, trailing 35-32 at halftime. Titus and Gress combined for all the points in the run, with Gress draining a left wing triple as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Neither team shot well from the field during the third quarter, but Rochester made just one field goal over the first six and a half minutes, allowing NYU to build its lead back to double-digits.
A driving basket by Titus and another end of quarter heave from Gress, this time from the right side, made the score 56-47 NYU, heading into the fourth.
NYU's defense clamped down again to start the fourth, holding Rochester without a field goal until there 4:19 left in the game. The visiting team used the cold stretch from UR to put the game away, going up by as many as 18 points.
Titus drained a 3-pointer and Hailey Bruneau added two free throws to pull the Yellowjackets within ten, but it was too little, too late for the Yellowjackets.
Rochester now has one contest remaining in the regular season, as the Yellowjackets play host to Emory University next Saturday at noon. Before the game, UR's six graduate students and seniors will be honored prior to the start of the contest, celebrating their Yellowjacket careers.