NYU women's basketball lost both games at home this weekend, falling to 1-6 in the University Athletic Association and 9-9 overall. The Violets lost to the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, 65-48, and the Case Western Reserve University Spartans, 55-47.
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The Violets played Carnegie Mellon Friday before a large crowd in attendance for a Tear It Up! event.
The first half was rough for NYU, who only made eight of 34 shots, whereas Carnegie Mellon made half of their 28 field goal attempts. The Violets were also falling short from the three-point line, only shooting 14.3 percent compared to the Tartans' 37.5 percent. NYU trailed at the half, 38-19.
In the second half, the Violets picked up their offensive game, outscoring Carnegie Mellon 29-27.
Junior center Makenzie Hirz led the Violets with 10 points and was the only NYU player to score in double digits. In contrast, four Tartans reached double digits with junior forward Emily Peel scoring a game-high of 18 points.
Senior forward Shelby Coon did her best to get NYU back in the game by grabbing 13 rebounds. But NYU, who trailed by 25 at one point, never got within 15 points of Carnegie Mellon.
The victory was Carnegie Mellon's first in Coles Sports Center since the 1990-91 season.
NYU then hosted Case Western yesterday afternoon.
The Violets started off the game with a strong first half. The Violets outshot the Spartans from the three-point line, making 37.5 percent of their shots. At the end of the first half, Case Western only trailed by three points.
The second half was a different story. The Violets only shot 23.1 percent from the field, while the Spartans made 13 of 25. The momentum shifted to favor Case Western's speed of play: slower and more calculated.
"The offensive boards killed us in the second half," head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "We were forcing them to take the shots we wanted, but we needed to grab the rebounds from those missed shots."
Case Western outscored NYU 30-14 in the paint with most shots coming from second chances off offensive rebounds. NYU also got crushed on the defensive boards as the Spartans grabbed 31 of 53 rebounds.
"On defense we were playing hard and recovering well," Trompeo said. "We just needed more rebounds."
Co-captain Tana Bertino led the Violets with 12 points, most of which were three-pointers.
"We are looking to grow and have our second half of UAA play be better than the first half of our season," freshman guard Whitney Hooper said.
The Violets will get a chance to redeem themselves next weekend when they visit Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 3 and Case Western Reserve on Feb. 5.
