NEW YORK, N.Y. - Janean Cuffee and Katie Foos both scored a game-high 24 points as the New York University women's basketball team defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 77-56 on Sunday at the Sportsplex in Manhattan. NYU is now 10-1, while the Engineers drop to 7-3.

The teams exchanged leads several times early in the game. Cuffee's three-pointer broke an 11-11 tie and Annie Barrett's free throw gave NYU a 15-11 lead after the first quarter.

The Violets extended their advantage to as many as 12 points in the second quarter, 36-24, on Foos' second consecutive three-ball with 1:10 remaining. A pair of Lolo Reynolds free throws pulled the Engineers to within 36-26 at halftime. 

Foos had 14 points at the break, while Cuffee added 11. Courtney Lewis had eight points for the visitors. 

After Foos put the Violets up by 15 on a layup midway through the third quarter, RPI went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to seven, 51-44. Lewis scored four points, while Celia Tomlinson and Sam Krumbhaar both had two points in the stretch.

Cuffee's three-pointer followed as the Violets ended the quarter on a 10-1 streak, culminated by a Cuffee layup with seconds remaining to give NYU a 61-45 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Foos' season-high point total included a 66.6% mark (6-of-9) from three-point range. She also contributed six rebounds and a steal. Brooklyn Shelton also scored in double-digits for NYU, finishing with 10 points.

Lewis led the Engineers with 16 points with four rebounds and a steal. Also scoring in double digits was freshman Heather Converse, who had 10 points with five rebounds. Krumbhaar finished with eight points and Tomlinson had seven with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Rensselaer returns to Liberty League play on Friday at 5:30pm when it hosts Union College at East Campus Arena. The Violets return to the court when they begin University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Saturday by hosting Brandeis University at 1pm.