Hum-Traverso Helps NYU Pull Past Purchase for Tip-Off Tourney Title

Senior Scores Eight Straight During Decisive Run; Carmen Named MVP

Grace Carmen scored 10 of her 19 points from the foul line.

Lehman-Mount Saint Vincent Box Score

Jen Hum-Traverso scored eight consecutive points during a decisive, late 10-3 run that enabled New York University to pull past Purchase College, 59-56, in the championship game of the NYU Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday night at the Jerome S. Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.

Tournament MVP Grace Carmen finished with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds for the Violets (3-1) won their eighth Tip-Off Tournament since inception eight years ago in 2002. NYU also received strong play from fellow All-Tournament Team honorees Hum-Traverso, who finished with 11 points and four steals, and Chrissy Kilmurray, who recorded her fourth career double-double with 10 points and a career-best 15 rebounds (8 offensive).

Purchase (2-1) got 11 points and eight boards from Lilia Mack while suffering its first setback.

Jessie Domes (6 points, 6 rebounds) earned a place on the All-Tournament Team and was joined by the College of Mount Saint Vincent's Karissa Koerner and Lehman College's Melissa St. Louis. Mount Saint Vincent defeated Lehman, 68-64, in the third-place game.

After both sides spent the early part of the second half trading leads and momentum swings, Hum-Traverso took control. NYU clung tenuously to a 44-43 lead after an Imani Floyd (9 points) bucket with 6:12 left, but NYU senior floor general scored eight straight points following a Chelsea Blake lay-up, going 5-for-6 from the foul line and sinking a clutch three-pointer as the Violets took a 54-46 lead with 1:46 remaining.

Carmen canned two free throws with :15 remaining to make it 59-53 in NYU's favor before Alyse LaPadula (11 tallies, 4 steals) drained a trey with five ticks remaining to make it 59-56 and cap the scoring.

"The loss to Mount St. Mary College on Monday has really shown in Grace and Jen because they were very determined," NYU head coach Stefano Trompeo said. "When things were going bad today, both Grace and Jen catapulted us to the championship."

Emily Foshag (13 points, career-high tying 8 rebounds) also scored in double digits for NYU, which survived shooting 28.3% (17-for-60), including just 5-for-23 (21.7% from three-point range, and 25 turnovers that Purchase turned into 22 points.

Purchase shot a bit better than the Violets, converting 31.9% (23-for-72) of their tries. However, the Panthers were 9-for-14 (64.3% from the foul line compared to a 20-for-32 (62.5%) effort from NYU. Carmen hit 10 of her 15 free-throw attempts.