Ranked #4 in the ESPN/USA Today Division III Coaches’ Poll and #6 by D3Hoops.com, the Violets (23-2, 12-2 UAA) earned at least a share of the UAA championship for the sixth time under 20-year head coach Janice Quinn – and for the first time since 2004.
However, Washington University will earn the UAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament courtesy of a tiebreaker over NYU after beating the University of Chicago 80-75 in overtime Saturday in St. Louis.
Both NYU and Brandeis (19-5, 9-5 UAA) will await word of their respective brackets when the 2007 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship field is announced Sunday, Feb. 25, at 10 pm.
Winners of seven straight games, the Violets were the #1-ranked team in the NCAA Division III East Region when the last regional rankings were released on Feb. 21 and will almost certainly earn an at-large invitation.
“What I’m most pleased about is that we finished out strong,” Quinn said. “We were 5-2 in the first half of the UAA last season and finished 2-5. This year, we started out 5-2 and got stronger and finished 7-0. That’s a big difference.”
Meanwhile, McEntee recorded her second straight 30-point game for NYU. The 5-11 sophomore netted a career-best 36 at Emory University on Feb. 18. Karen Bachman, one of three seniors honored prior to the game, finished with 16 points (8-13 FG) and nine rebounds while playing outstanding post defense for the Violets, who produced the largest point total this season against a Brandeis team that had allowed just 50.0 points per game entering the contest.
However, the Judges (#15 D3Hoops.com, #17 ESPN/USA Today) hung around and nearly overcame a 14-point second-half deficit. After NYU went on a 14-2 run to seize a 55-41 lead with 14:32 remaining after junior Chelsea Trout connected on a three-point try, Brandeis went on a 21-11 spurt to pull within 66-62 with 5:43 left after senior Caitlin Malcolm (12 points, five rebounds) hit a pair of free throws.
Even after NYU scored the next four points, including two conversions from the foul line by McEntee, the Judges pulled within 74-70 on a lay-up by sophomore Cassidy Dadaos – and could have gotten even closer after a steal by sophomore Amanda Wells.
However, a missed jumper by freshman Lauren Rashford was rebounded by NYU senior Stephanie Ryba, who calmly hit two free throws to extend the lead to 76-70 with :39 to go.
Brandeis would not get closer than four points in the waning moments as Ryba (1-2 FT) and McEntee (2-2 FT) iced the game for the Violets.
Senior Allison Chase also scored 12 points for Brandeis and added six steals, while junior Jaime Capra tallied 10 points.
NYU shot 49.0% (25-51) from the floor and 78.1% (25-32) at the line, while Brandeis hit 46.3% (25-54) of its shots – including 53.8% (14-26) in the second half – while converting 69.0% (20-29) of its charity-stripe tries.
NYU led 39-30 at halftime after using a 28-12 run to start the game. During that spurt, McEntee (13 points) singlehandedly outscored the Judges. McEntee finished with 15 first-half points while Bachman added 10.
“In recruiting venues all summer, I kept hearing how small my frontline was,” Quinn said. “It makes me smile. I think they play big.”
Prior to the game, the Violets honored their senior class of Bachman, Ryba and point guard Adrienne Rochetti.
Brandeis University vs New York University 2/24/07 2:00 pm at New York, NY/Coles Sports Center At New York, NY/Coles Sports Center NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 79, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY 73 BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY (19-5, 9-5 UAA) Malcolm, Caitlin 5-13 2-4 12; Chase, Alison 4-6 4-4 12; Capra, Jaime 2-8 6-12 10; Holgash, Kiersten 3-4 0-0 9; Wells, Amanda 2-4 5-5 9; Rashford, Lauren 2-5 2-2 6; Gieschen, Kasey 3-4 0-0 6; Orlando, Lauren 2-5 1-2 5; Dadaos, Cassidy 2-3 0-0 4; Chapin, Jessica 0-2 0-0 0; Tremblay, Courtney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 20-29 73. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (23-2, 12-2 UAA) McEntee, Jessica 6-10 17-20 31; Bachman, Karen 8-13 0-2 16; Rochetti, Adrienne 3-5 2-2 8; Ryba, Stephanie 1-7 5-6 7; Trout, Chelsea 2-5 0-0 6; Fox, Megan 2-4 1-2 5; Brown, Gena 2-5 0-0 4; Carmen, Grace 1-1 0-0 2; McDevitt, Sarah 0-0 0-0 0; Hum-Traverso, Jen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 25-32 79. Brandeis University........... 30 43 - 73 New York University........... 39 40 - 79 3-point goals--Brandeis University 3-9 (Holgash, Kiersten 3-3; Capra, Jaime 0-4; Rashford, Lauren 0-1; Chapin, Jessica 0-1), New York University 4-13 (McEntee, Jessica 2-3; Trout, Chelsea 2-5; Rochetti, Adrienne 0-2; Ryba, Stephanie 0-2; Hum-Traverso, Jen 0-1). Fouled out--Brandeis University-Orlando, Lauren; Malcolm, Caitlin, New York University-None. Rebounds--Brandeis University 31 (Wells, Amanda 5; Malcolm, Caitlin 5), New York University 34 (Bachman, Karen 9). Assists--Brandeis University 11 (Capra, Jaime 3; Holgash, Kiersten 3), New York University 12 (Rochetti, Adrienne 4). Total fouls--Brandeis University 24, New York University 22. Technical fouls--Brandeis University-None, New York University-Rochetti, Adrienne. A-1788 Senior Day for NYU: Violets honor Karen Bachman, Adrienne Rochetti and Stephanie Ryba prior to the game. NYU ranked #4 by ESPN/USA Today, #6 by D3Hoops.com. Brandeis #15 in D3Hoops.com poll, #17 in ESPN/USA Today.