In a game in which they never trailed, it took No. 15 New York University a pair of second-half runs to pull away from the pesky College of Staten Island women’s basketball team, scoring an 82-66 win over the Dolphins as part of non-conference play at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.  The Violets extended to 3-0 overall, while the Dolphins fell for the second-straight outing, dropping to 1-2.

The Dolphins forced 24 NYU turnovers in the game, but strong rebounding (NYU held a final 54-32 advantage) and a chilly shooting performance for CSI (34.5%), helped the Violets earn victory, at keep CSI at arm’s-length most of the way.

NYU got off to a fast, 8-1, start, before a 7-0 CSI run knotted the score at 8-8 with 16:27 to go in the first frame.  From there, however, a Riley Wurtz and Kaitlyn Read basket gave NYU back the two-possession lead and the team never trailed again.  The Violets led by as many as 11 in the opening stanza, but in a recurring theme of the evening, CSI kept clawing back.  The Dolphins closed the half on an 11-5 run, steadied by a Christina Pasaturo three and five-straight points from Nikki Fabozzi.  At the break, CSI was down, 37-32.

A Megan Myhre jumper shortened the gap to 42-41 in the early stages of the second half, but NYU rallied for a numbing 14-0 run over the next five-plus minutes.  Emily Rowe canned three layups in the run and CSI shot 0-for-6 while committing four turnovers in the stretch.  From there, again CSI played neck-and-neck with the Violets, trading baskets and earning mini runs, but in the end, the Violets had built up enough of a lead to stave off the visiting Dolphins.

“We had a bad stretch for a few minutes but we were right there,” said Head Coach Tim Shanahan.  “It’s unfortunate, but we can take some things away from this game, and we will continue to work on getting better.”

Guard Victoria Gallinaro led the way for CSI with 18 points, adding a trio of rebounds and assists.  Fabozzi finished with 14 markers and a team-high six assists, while, Pasaturo finished with 12 points.  Megan Dawe led all scorers for NYU with 23 points and 10 rebounds.  Rowe also had a double-double, knocking in 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Up next for CSI is a weekend road trip to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where they will participate in the Susquehanna University Pepsi Tip-Off Tournament.  CSI will open against Penn State-Harrisburg at 6pm on Saturday evening.