The Millsaps women’s basketball team fell to an empire of a program on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
New York University, ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the last two years, kept its perfect season going with a 78-51 win over the Majors in Center Valley, Pa.
The Violets (26-0) did a good job of shutting down Millsaps’ usually-potent offense, holding star player Haley Franklin to a postseason-low 11 points in 34 minutes. NYU, led by three players with double-digit scoring days, shot 42.9 percent from the field in comparison to the Majors’ 32.1 percent.
The biggest difference in the box score was rebounding, with NYU grabbing double the number of boards Millsaps was able to bring down, 56-28. The disparity resulted in 20 second-chance points for the Violets.
One bright spot for Millsaps (24-5) was the emergence of freshman Garin Freeman, who finished with a career-high 23 points. The All-SAA honorable mention guard added four rebounds, two steals, and one assist.
Even with the tough loss, Millsaps head coach Justin LeBlanc was proud of how his team fought against the No. 1 team in the country after landing in the tournament for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
“I couldn’t be prouder in my team and what they did this season,” LeBlanc said, per a release from the school. “I thought we played hard.”
Millsaps finished the 2023-24 campaign with the most wins in program history and a conference championship.
