(Riverdale, NY) – On paper, it had all of the makings of a blowout. The Mount Saint Vincent Women's Basketball team looked across at their opponent during warm-ups on Tuesday night, and saw an opponent with exactly double the number of players on their roster than the Dolphins had. Not only was 11th ranked NYU deep, they had size, speed, and a 10-1 record to boot. But somebody forgot to tell Mount Saint Vincent that they weren't supposed to win on paper, and for more than a half, it seemed as if the Dolphins were going to pull one of the biggest upsets across the country this season.
Ultimately, NYU broke a 26-26 halftime tie, and pulled away for a 57-39 win at Mount Saint Vincent. But, it wasn't easy for the Violets. Mount Saint Vincent outrebounded their larger foe, 46-42, and for the most part this was a statistically even game. NYU blew the game open by converting 39% of their shots, while Mount Saint Vincent hit only 24% of their field goal attempts, but otherwise the Mount went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the nation.
Freshman Drew Gomes (Thomaston, CT/Thomaston HS) was a major reason why the game was so close until the very end. Gomes scored the game's first two points, and scored five points during a 7-2 Mount Saint Vincent run to open the game. Once NYU tied the score, the teams went back and forth throughout the first half with each team enjoying the lead twice, and the game was tied on six different occasions. Gomes finished the first half with 13 points on 5 for 5 shooting.
The start of the second half featured much of the same back-and-forth action, but NYU's depth prevailed. With the Violets (11-1) up 36-30 and 14 minutes remaining in the game, they turned their play up a notch, and an 18-4 run over an 11-minute span broke the game open. NYU junior Adrienne Rochetti (Vineland, NJ/Sacred Heart) scored 11 of her game-high 14 points during the second half, and eight different Violets scored points.
For Mount Saint Vincent (2-7), besides Gomes's heroics, senior Laura Bucci (Irvington, NY/Our Lady of Victory) had her best night of the season, scoring a season-high 11 points. Senior Lauren DeRosa (Hawthorne, NY/Westlake HS) and sophomore Kaitlin Burud (Red Hook, NY/Red Hook HS) had big defensive games, with the duo combining for 13 rebounds and three steals. Burud added six points as well. Speaking of defense, Mount Saint Vincent held NYU to its second-lowest scoring total of the 2005-06 season as the Dolphins forced the Violets to shoot only 4 for 15 from three-point range, and racked up 12 steals.
Mount Saint Vincent will look to break a five-game losing streak on Thursday, Jan. 12 when they travel to Skyline Conference rival, Manhattanville, at 7:00 p.m.
