The NYU women's basketball team crushed Hunter College 70-51 behind 39 bench points in the quarter-final of the ECAC Division III Metro Tournament Wednesday night.
Freshman Maggie Ely kept the Violets in the game in the first half while the starters struggled. She scored all of her career-high 16 points in the opening 20 minutes while NYU starters were limited to 10 points combined.
Ely finished the half 6-6 from the field including 3-3 from beyond the arc, leading the Violets to a slim 31-29 halftime advantage.
"We wanted to come into the game with the mindset of scoring," Ely said. "We needed to put a lot of points on the board and that's what we were able to do."
When the second half started, the defense took over. The Violets held the Hawks scoreless for the first seven minutes of the half, as Hunter started 0-8 and the Violets were able to extend their lead.
Though the Violets' defense remained tough, senior Grace Carmen, who did not score for the game's first 25 minutes, received a technical foul with nearly 16 minutes left. She promptly responded by scoring seven points in under a minute.
"It was a very physical game, but sometimes plays like that fire a team up," head coach Stefano Trompeo said of the technical.
When Carmen's scoring outburst finished, junior Bianca Storts hit a three on the Violets' next possession to cap their 16-0 run and extend their lead to 47-29.
The Hawks answered with 10 unanswered points to trim the NYU lead to eight, but the Violets scored the next seven points to retake control. Their run was led by junior Chelsea Blake who had five points in that stretch including a three-point play.
After that, Hunter never got closer than within 10 as the Violets' lead peaked at 23 with just four minutes left on two free throws from Storts.
The Violets eventually held on for the 19-point victory.
"Getting this game was great," Trompeo said. "It could be a great stepping stone for us for the rest of the ECAC."
Though Ely led NYU in scoring, sophomore Erica Franke also scored ten off the bench and a total of ten Violets entered the scoring column.
The Violets' defense forced 23 turnovers which led to 23 NYU points.
Juanita Whyms led Hunter with 17 points and accounted for 23 of the Hawks' 45 rebounds. Whyms also had five blocks and two assists.
With the win, the sixth-seeded Violets advance to the semifinals of the ECAC Division III Metro Tournament and will face No. 7 Drew University on Saturday for a spot in the title game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be played at the Stevens Institute of Technology campus.
