To the Sweet 16: NYU Women’s Basketball Advances in NCAA Tournament

The Violets extended their winning streak to 13 and reached Sweet 16.

The NYU women’s basketball team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Women’s Tournament after a successful weekend with two wins over Greensboro College and Messiah University. Neither team could keep up with the Violets as they dominated from the start, beating Greensboro 71-54 on Friday night and Messiah 62-41 the next day.

This now marks consecutive seasons in which the Violets have won at least two games in the NCAA Tournament.

The Purples’ success this season has been recognized by the University Athletic Association.. The team almost won conference honors, with young forward Natalie Bruns winning UAA Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, sophomore guard Bella Pellecchia winning Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in a row, and freshman guard Caroline Peper winning Rookie of the Year after her phenomenal campaign.

Bruns was the only player in the UAA that season to rank in the top 11 per game in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, assists, blocks and steals. She also broke NYU’s single-season block record this year and recorded a triple-double in a 77-52 win over Carnegie Mellon on January 27. -recording of the game block.

“It’s obviously very exciting, especially given the level of talent that’s been in the league this year,” Bruns said of winning the Player of the Year award. “This award made me grateful for my team – they were incredibly supportive and proud when it was announced and I wouldn’t have received this award if I didn’t have such talented teammates and coaches.”

Bruns showed her talent this weekend in both games. On Friday against Greensboro, she scored 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. The Pride equalized 7-7 in the first quarter, but after that it was all Violets. They led by a whopping 23 points and even outscored Greensboro 46-24 in the paint, with Bruns playing a crucial role.

“My teammates kept giving me the ball when I was throwing shots,” Bruns said. “We’re really versatile, so when our 3-point shots don’t hit, we go inside.”

NYU didn’t stop there, as the team took on Messiah a day later and dominated the court again. Despite another poor 1–10 game of three, NYU was 16 points ahead of Messiah in the paint. The Violets also held the Falcons 0–8 out of three and 19–61 from the field. NYU also limited Messiah’s transition offense and held them to zero fast break points. Senior Jenny Walker led the team with 24 points and added nine rebounds of her own.

As with the Greensboro win, NYU was again in the lead for most of the game.. After the Falcons started the game 4-0, the Violets responded with a 10-0 lead and never looked back, leading to the end. The Purples’ biggest lead was 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the game was another clear win for a very tenacious and well-trained NYU team.

“We definitely had a defensive game plan and a defensive mindset,” head coach Meg Barber said after the game.

On Friday, NYU will take on the formidable Trin University team, who defeated the University of Washington 79-69 in their first round matchup. The Violets split the season series against WashU this year, showing just how strong this Thunder team is. NYU will be busy with Trine’s Sidney Wagner, who is averaging about 15 points per contest and an impressive 2.2 steals per game.

Despite a tough battle for the Elite Eight, the Violets remain confident in their championship dreams.

“It’s the same with winning streaks in the locker room,” Peper said. “We are just fixated on our goal of getting into the national championship. We’re fixated on game after game and we’re ready to continue the streak.”

Contact Miller Romm at [email protected]