Anything can happen in March. Just 24 hours after blowing out the University of Maine-Farmington by 64 points, NYU women’s basketball fought through a tough defensive showdown against Messiah University on Saturday to secure its spot in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. The same night, the men’s team watched its run come to an end — after securing an at-large bid and prevailing in the first round to advance, the Violets were knocked out of the tournament by host Wesleyan University in a devastating 84-69 defeat. 

In a staggering victory over Maine-Farmington on Friday, the women’s team scored 108 points — the most in program history in a tournament game. The Violets’ absolute dominance opened the floor for every active member of the roster to play in the NCAA Tournament, and every player contributed to the stat sheet in some way, with all but one getting to the basket. Even in the fourth quarter, where not a single starter hit the court, the Violets were electric, shooting around 70% from the field to knock down 28 points. 

Senior captain and guard Caroline Peper, who tied it on her senior night, broke the program’s single-season three point record with her 95th basket. With the win, the Violets tied for the third-longest streak in NCAA basketball, men’s or women’s — but in March, where any loss spells the end of the season, the team has bigger things to focus on: 1-0, every night. 

Back in 2023, NYU secured a spot in the Sweet 16 with a win against Messiah — on Saturday, history repeated itself. 

“It feels like a weird, full circle moment,” Barber said on Friday of the next day’s matchup. “Obviously they have a star-studded player on the roster, but for us, every time we take the quarter, we’re really focused on ourselves and how we can show up the best we can be.”

Barber was referring to Messiah’s graduate student and forward Liv Monturo, who scored 33 points against State University of New York at Cortland and 19 against NYU — a force on the court the whole weekend. Messiah put up a strong defensive showing, but the Violets outmatched the Eagles with 23 points gained from 22 forced turnovers and out-rebounded Messiah 44-24. 

“Coming out with that type of defensive energy is such a great way to start the game, and a good way to fuel our offense,” said junior Brooke Batchelor, recently named UAA Defensive Player of the Year, in Saturday’s press conference.  

Peper and Batchelor, the only two starters from last year’s tournament run, spent all 40 minutes on the floor, leading the offense with 25 and 15 points, respectively. Peper grabbed four steals and Batchelor had two, along with nine rebounds — eight defensive. Junior forward Yasmene Clark, averaging 10.8 rebounds on the season, snagged 15 on Saturday. 

The women’s basketball team partners with Team IMPACT, a nonprofit connecting children with disabilities and serious illnesses with collegiate teams. Amina, NYU’s match and good luck charm, helped the team mark its spot in the bracket after both wins. 

The men’s team hit the road for the first and second rounds with a lot to prove. NYU fell behind early against Gettysburg College, but went on a 14-0 run to dominate the rest of the game. The victory was especially meaningful for head coach Waleed Farid, who claimed his first tournament win with the Violets, as well as graduate student transfer Darren Rubin, who had made an appearance as a senior at Denison University but never scored a win. 

“When I came into college that was always the goal for me,” Rubin said after Saturday’s loss. “To come here and play on a team with a bunch of guys who basically didn’t know each other six months ago, and become so close with them, and win a game in the tournament was really special.”

With 11 graduating athletes, NYU’s early exit is a heartbreaker. The Violets kept pace with the Cardinals through the first half with six lead changes and four ties. At halftime, it was a single-possession game, but Wesleyan pulled away after the break. An 8-0 run sealed the deal, and NYU couldn’t get within six points for the remainder of the game.

“We didn’t play our best game today,” Farid said in the postgame press conference. “A lot of ups and downs throughout the game — some mistakes that we don’t normally make — and we shot ourselves in the foot a little bit at times. But overall, I’m really proud of the group we have and what we accomplished this year.”

The loss marks an end to a challenging season — with so many graduated leaders and incoming transfers, as well as a new head coach, the men’s team faced growing pains throughout the season, fighting through injuries and fluctuating lineups. NYU finished 18-9 on the season and 8-6 in the UAA. 

“Even though we lost a couple of games at the end, I think that’s really where we learned the most about ourselves,” graduate student and forward Luke Kolaja said at the press conference. “Had we lost a little earlier, we would have been a little bit better.”

Kolaja finished with 19 points, and four rebounds and assists. Rubin led the Violets with 20 points, also logging four assists and two rebounds. Seniors Bryan Moussako and Quinn Clark, veterans in the program who helped bridge the roster transition, closed out their final starts with 10 and six points, respectively. Next year will bring more changes to the roster, but Farid has established himself as a leader and laid the groundwork for a winning culture.  

As the No. 1 overall seed, the women’s team earned the right to host the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds. The weekend will tip off on Friday at 5 p.m., as the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse goes against the University of Southern Maine. The Violets will close out the doubleheader at 7:30 p.m., when they take on Hardin-Simmons. The winners of Friday’s games will advance to the Elite Eight — where NYU last lost in 2023 — on Saturday. 

“The reason we’re so good is not because we have a good starting five — it’s because we have a great team,” Barber said. “We don’t show up on game day and hope things go well. We’re preparing for them to go well with how hard we compete in practice, and that’s going to be what we continue to do.”

Contact Kiran Komanduri at [email protected].