MANHATTAN, N.Y. - Kayla Patterson scored 21 points to lead four double-figure scorers as nationally ranked NYU defeated visiting Cortland, 67-47, in a non-league women's basketball game.
The Violets (10-2) are ranked 21st nationally in Division III in the latest WBCA/USA Today poll, and are the top "receiving votes" team in the D3hoops.com Top 25.
Stephanie Rice (Duanesburg) led Cortland (5-8) with 17 points and six rebounds. She made 8-of-17 shots from the floor.
Alyssa Crosby (Brier Hill/Hammond) finished with nine points, five rebounds and three blocked shots,
Danielle Levine (Holbrook/Sachem North) totaled six rebounds and four assists, and
Tanna Mohammed (Huntington/Elwood-John Glenn) scored seven points in 10 minutes off the bench.
Cassidy Chapko (Valley Falls/Hoosic Valley) shared the team lead with Levine with four assists.
Patterson made 10-of-16 shots from the field in her 21-point effort and also grabbed five rebounds. Amy Harioka scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, Shaye McGoey netted 12 points, and Mikaela Pyatt finished with 10 points and six boards. Lindsey Oldshue led the Violets with seven assists and Lauren Brown hauled in a game-high nine rebounds.
NYU led 16-11 after one quarter, but Cortland pulled to within a point twice in the first four minutes of the second, the last at 21-20 on a Rice 3-pointer with 6:22 left. NYU answered with a 7-0 run, with McGoey providing the final four points, and McGoey's 3-pointer right before the buzzer gave the Violets a 33-23 halftime lead.
Cortland was within eight at 39-31 on a Rice jumper with 6:10 remaining in the third, but NYU rattled off the next eight points, starting with two Harioka 3-pointers, to take a 16-point lead. The Violets led by 18 points after three quarters and by at least 16 points the entire fourth quarter.
NYU shot 43 percent from the field compared to Cortland's 37 percent. The Violets finished with a 24-5 advantage in second-chance points as they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.
Cortland will play at Potsdam Friday at 7:30 p.m. and at Plattsburgh Saturday at 4 p.m. in SUNYAC contests.
