The beginning of the holiday season couldn’t stop the NYU women’s basketball team in its march to the NCAA Tournament. The Violets soundly defeated Baruch College 72-54 on Wednesday and showed no signs of a turkey-induced hangover on Saturday against Johns Hopkins University, holding a comfortable lead the entire way en route to a 49-38 victory.

On Wednesday, the Violets traveled to ARC Arena to play Baruch College. The game was close during the first quarter, which saw eight lead changes in a tightly contested ten minutes. In the second quarter, junior forward Lindsey Oldshue gave the Violets a 21-19 advantage. Refusing to relinquish their lead, the Violets stayed steady on offense and outscored Baruch 24-14 in the second quarter. They extended their lead further in the second half and held Baruch to just six points in the fourth quarter.

The Violets’ run was powered by senior forward Megan Dawe’s dominance in the first half. Finishing with her first double-double of the season, Dawe scored all of her 18 points in the first half, with 12 in the second quarter. She also dominated on the boards, grabbing ten rebounds.

With Dawe quiet in the second half, the Violets looked to other players to fill the offensive void. Junior forward Kaitlyn Read and senior captain Maya Wasowicz scored ten points apiece, while junior guard Amy Harioka and senior captain Riley Wurtz scored a combined 13 points in the second half.

Returning from Thanksgiving break, the Violets traveled to Maryland to play Johns Hopkins University. The Violets raced out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Led by Dawe’s 12, the Violets were much more balanced offensively, with six players scoring at least six points. Read, usually the Violets’ go-to scoring option, dished out a season-high six assists. Dawe and Read controlled the boards again with a combined 16 points. Their effort was even more balanced than their previous game, as their attention to detail on both ends led to an even stronger defensive performance than the first game of the week.

“Our focus was on improving our defense, and it definitely was better in the second game,” Wasowicz said. “Our offense came to us because of our defense.”

Now ranked fifth in the country, the Violets are determined to stay on track as the season continues.

“We’re taking things one game at a time and focusing on getting better each day in practice,” Wasowicz said.

The Violets are back on the road on Dec. 1 against SUNY New Paltz, and with just three more games scheduled in the calendar year, the Violets hope to storm into 2016 on a wave of momentum for the NYU Holiday Classic on January 2.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov. 30 print edition. Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].