McEntee went 7-14 from the field and 8-9 from the charity stripe while grabbing nine rebounds for the Violets (15-1, 4-1 UAA), who won their fourth straight game. McEntee also grabbed nine rebounds for NYU, ranked #14 by ESPN/USA Today and #16 by d3hoops.com
McEntee received stellar help from frontcourt mate and senior captain Karen Bachman, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.
Most instrumental to the Violets’ success, though, was the outstanding perimeter play of two key reserves. Junior Chelsea Trout established career highs of 14 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes, while freshman Jen Hum-Traverso played the entire second half and netted a personal-best 10 points while handing out five assists.
"We got great minutes from Hum-Traverso. She did a nice job at the line, took care of the ball, distributed the ball," NYU head coach Janice Quinn said. "I thought Chelsea coming off the bench was really the story."
Case Western (8-8, 0-5 UAA) hung around in the first half thanks to its relentless pursuit of offensive loose-ball rebounds. The Spartans picked up 17 offensive boards in the first 20 minutes and were within 30-24 after Dana Dempsey, who scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the first half, drained a trey 5:28 before the halftime horn.
However, NYU used more of its stellar defense to create a 44-28 halftime cushion. Five different players scored as the Violets went on a 14-4 spurt. NYU shot 50.0% (13-26) in the opening stanza as McEntee and Bachman scored nine points apiece.
Ashley Horton contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Spartans, while Maria Jackson finished with 10 points, nine boards and four assists.
Case Western was held to 33.3% shooting (27-81), including just 20.8% (10-48) in the opening half.
Conversely, NYU shot 47.5% (28-59) from the field and 77.1% (27-35) from the foul line. With Bachman and McEntee leading the way, the Violets owned a 48-41 edge on the glass.
NYU resumes action Friday, January 26, when it travels to face the University of Chicago in a battle of UAA powers. Tip-off time is 9 pm Eastern Standard Time (8 pm Central Standard Time).