The NYU women’s basketball team won the NCAA Division III Championships in Columbus, OH with a 51-41 victory against Smith College on Saturday, the second time it has earned the title in its history. The Violets ended their run with a record of 31-0, marking the team’s first-ever undefeated season. 

The Violets totaled 2,459 points over the season — a program best. The team’s athletic edge translated into success at the NCAA Tournament, which spanned from March 1-16. 

The team’s winning match against Smith was one of the toughest matches in its 2023-24 campaign. The Violets ended the first quarter 15-10 before the Pioneers’ excellent rim protection and persistent offense brought them back in, leaving NYU headed into the half up at 23-21. 

The final game of the championship saw the Violets score the least amount of points in their entire season, at only 51. The team also tied for the lowest number of three-pointers made with just two, and shot a season-low 35% from the field. The game ended with both teams scoring season-low points.

In addition to winning the national championship and beating personal records, the team was ranked No. 1 for the entire season. The Violets maintained a 26.1 scoring margin, which ranked fourth in all of D-III. 

NYU made it into the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fourth year in a row after three consecutive UAA Championship titles, and looked to break its two-year loss streak in the Elite Eight. For the first time since 2007, the Violets advanced to the Final Four, facing Transylvania University. 

Transylvania was the defending national champion, and the only other undefeated team left in the running. The team had also knocked the Violets out of the tournament last year in the Elite Eight, but didn’t have as much luck this time around. 

NYU led the first half 31-16 in the opening 20 minutes. Through a tenacious Violets defense in the final two minutes, the team beat Transylvania 57-42. 

“Transylvania is a championship team, and it took a championship effort for us to pull it out,” head coach Meg Barber said.

Senior Natalie Bruns closed out her career at NYU as a national champion, WBCA National Player of the Year, and the university’s all-time blocked shots leader with 237 blocks and 1,128 points.

The victory was a yearslong effort for the NYU women’s basketball team, which has at long last added a new championship trophy to its collection. 

“We’ve been working at this for the past four years,” senior captain Jordan Janowski said. “To overcome COVID-19 and not having a facility to finally bring a national championship back home means so much to this program.”

Contact Liam Restivo at [email protected].