Five players reached double digits for the Violets (20-2, 9-2 UAA), who are ranked #8 in the ESPN/USA Today Division III Poll and #11 by D3hoops.com: sophomore Chelsea Trout (12 points), sophomore Gena Brown (10 points, seven assists) and senior Adrienne Rochetti (10 points, four assists).
NYU remained tied atop the UAA standings with Washington University.
Carnegie Mellon (8-14, 2-9 UAA) got a game-high 23 points from Leah Feola.
In fact, Feola helped the Tartans hang around until early in the second half. Carnegie Mellon trailed 64-55 with 9:14 remaining after Feola drained a jumper. Then the Violets scored the next 14 points, including five by Rochetti, to take an 78-55 lead with 5:40 remaining after Brown connected from long distance.
In the second half, NYU shot 60.0% (18-30) from the floor while holding the Tartans to just 21.2% (7-33) shooting.
To its credit, Carnegie Mellon did quite an about-face from the first time it faced NYU – at least early on. On Jan. 5 in Pittsburgh, the Tartans trailed 47-14 at halftime as the Violets enjoyed one of their finest opening halves under 20-year head coach Janice Quinn.
This time, the Tartans scored the first six points of the contest and took a 39-38 lead into the locker room thanks to Feola’s efforts. Feola poured in 19 points in the opening 20 minutes on 7-10 shooting, scoring from beyond the three-point arc, at the charity stripe, and on a variety of pull-up jumpers and drives to the hoop.
Also of note for the Tartans was the performance of Ashley Rothwell, who finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
NYU returns to action Friday, Feb. 16, when it travels to Case Western Reserve University for a 6 pm tip-off in Cleveland. When the teams last played, the Violets recorded an 88-74 victory on Jan. 21 at the Coles Sports Center.
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 86, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY 66 CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY (8-14, 2-9 UAA) Feola, Leah 8-18 6-7 23; Rothwell, Ashley 4-12 4-4 12; Aleski, Stacie 3-9 0-0 8; Innes, Corey 3-8 0-0 7; Light, Colleen 2-8 1-1 6; Williamson, Paige 1-4 2-2 5; Schilling, Jeanette 2-3 0-0 4; Macguire, Meghan 0-0 1-2 1; Link, Sarah 0-0 0-0 0; Jones, Chrissy 0-0 0-0 0; Mazziotta, Ashley 0-3 0-0 0; Darcher, Nora 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-66 14-16 66. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY (20-2, 9-2 UAA) McEntee, Jessica 6-13 10-10 22; Bachman, Karen 9-10 0-0 18; Trout, Chelsea 3-7 4-4 12; Brown, Gena 4-5 0-1 10; Rochetti, Adrienne 3-8 3-4 10; Fox, Megan 4-5 0-0 8; Hum-Traverso, Jen 2-3 0-0 4; McDevitt, Sarah 1-4 0-1 2; Ryba, Stephanie 0-2 0-0 0; Carmen, Grace 0-4 0-0 0; Anderson, Alaina 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-62 17-20 86. Carnegie Mellon University.... 39 27 - 66 New York University........... 38 48 - 86 3-point goals--Carnegie Mellon University 6-20 (Aleski, Stacie 2-4; Williamson, Paige 1-3; Innes, Corey 1-4; Feola, Leah 1-3; Light, Colleen 1-3; Mazziotta, Ashley 0-2; Darcher, Nora 0-1), New York University 5-18 (Brown, Gena 2-3; Trout, Chelsea 2-6; Rochetti, Adrienne 1-5; McDevitt, Sarah 0-2; Ryba, Stephanie 0-2). Fouled out--Carnegie Mellon University-None, New York University-None. Rebounds--Carnegie Mellon University 38 (Feola, Leah 6), New York University 39 (McEntee, Jessica 14). Assists--Carnegie Mellon University 14 (Aleski, Stacie 4), New York University 20 (Brown, Gena 6). Total fouls--Carnegie Mellon University 23, New York University 13. Technical fouls--Carnegie Mellon University-None, New York University-None. A-853 NYU is ranked #8 by ESPN/USA Today and #11 by D3hoops.com.