The men’s and women’s basketball teams once again played the same schools on the same day, as they each faced Emory University on Friday and the University of Rochester on Sunday. But similar to last week’s performances, the results were mixed.

The men’s team (18-4, 7-4 UAA) kicked off its pair of games with a 73-56 victory over the No. 24 ranked (d3.hoops.com) Eagles in Atlanta, GA. Emory controlled the first half, shooting 8-19 from behind the arc and claiming a 34-30 lead at the end of the half. The final 20 minutes belonged to the Violets though, as they outscored Emory 43-22 for the remainder of the game, holding the Eagles to a dismal 2-18 from three point land. NYU capped off a dominating performance down low, out-rebounding Emory 47-26 and out-scoring them 46-19 in the paint. Senior captain Evan Kupferberg had a team-high 26 points and 11 rebounds.

On Sunday, NYU ran into a good Yellowjackets team and lost 75-63, snapping their four-game winning streak in Rochester, New York. Rochester was unstoppable from deep, shooting 10-19. The Violets were not able to find their stroke, shooting a weak 3-19 from downtown. The game remained relatively tight throughout, but the Yellowjackets’ shooting was able to give them the edge. Kupferberg added another double-double — his fifth straight and 16th on the season. Senior center Costis Gontikas also played well with 16 points and eight rebounds. Even with strong performances, players such as freshman Doug Gertner believes the Violets have to get back to what they do best.

“We’re gonna have bad shooting days we just need to feed the ball inside to the big men more because that’s our bread and butter,” Gertner said. “Then when we start hurting the other team inside it opens things out on the perimeter for more open shots as the defense packs in.”

As for the women’s team, the Violets — ranked No. 14 by d3.hoops.com — continued to slump as they dropped both of their games, extending their losing streak to four. The Violets lost a close one on Friday in Atlanta against the Eagles 65-59. Junior guard Kaitlin Read led all players with 25 points, but her stellar performance was not enough as the Violets’ foul trouble proved costly. The Eagles were given nearly twice as many free throw attempts as both Read and senior captain Riley Wurtz fouled out, awarding them the edge late in the game.

Rochester proved to be a tough test for the women as well, as they were blown out 85-55 by the Yellowjackets. NYU (17-5, 6-5 UAA) kept it close through the first quarter but could not get anything going in the second quarter, trapping them in a deep hole they could not climb out of. The Violets struggled from the field, shooting 24 percent compared to the Yellowjackets’ 49 percent. Senior captain Megan Dawe scored a team-high
18 points.

Both teams next hit the court when they each host the University of Chicago on Friday, Feb. 19 in what could be the last basketball weekend at Coles. Tip-off for the women’s team is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. for the men.

A version of this article appeared in the Feb. 16 print edition. Email Brandon Herrera at [email protected].