On March 23rd, history was made. The NCAA Women’s Basketball DIII finals was hosted right here in the Cregger Center, where fans from all over the country came to support their finalists. It was NYU VS. Smith College, the arena filled to the brim with roaring fans all dressed up in their school attire.
The first period was a sweep for NYU, racking up 9 points during the first three minutes of the game. Although Smith tried to stop their relentless offense, lay-ups upon lay-ups were scored, keeping an incredible pace that transformed them into a scoring machine. By the end of the period, the score was a terrifying 26-8 in NYU’s favor. The second period displayed Smith picking up their shortcomings, however NYU was still swishing nasty three-pointers and maintaining their consistency. Player #1 on Smith did an excellent job of getting behind NYU’s defense to nab more points, eventually ending the first half with a 41-22 score with NYU still in the lead
The third period was easily Smith’s strongest highlight, player #5 graduate Ally Landan showing an incredible display of rigorous offense and defense against NYU. She was a one man army that snatched the ball and ran down the court in an instant, scoring lay-up after lay-up. Unfortunately, NYU began to dominate the second half of the period, ending it with a 63-36 final score in their favor. The final period had a complete shift in atmosphere, with the Smith crowd feeling down and under whilst NYU was ecstatic and satisfied. The final nail in the coffin was NYU finishing the game with a 77-49 win, becoming the National Champions for the second time in a row.
Zachary Bayers
Section Editor
