March 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nThe Violets battled back from a double-digit halftime deficit to pull within three in the third quarter and four in the fourth, only to see Scranton weather their rallies.<\/p>\n
Barber said she felt a key moment came in the fourth quarter after NYU\u2019s Olivia Lagao hit a jumper to narrow the Scranton lead to 52-44.<\/p>\n
\u201c(We) had two back-to-back turnovers and I think, you know, we\u2019d love to have those back, but we had tired players out there that had that were working their butts off on defense,\u201d Barber said. \u201cYou wish you had about 14 timeouts when you\u2019re giving that much effort and, you know, just those are play opportunities, and we just missed out on a couple of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barber praised her team\u2019s resilience, particularly senior Caroline Peper, who ends her career at No. 9 on NYU\u2019s all-time scorers list after finishing the loss with 19 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a coach on the floor,\u201d Barber said of Peper. \u201cI don\u2019t know who I\u2019m going to talk to next year during games. I mean, I had a conversation with her at halftime, just sitting on the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have absolutely loved coaching Caroline Peper. This is like a one-of-a-one opportunity to coach somebody with an IQ and understanding the game and being so selfless that like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m being faceguarded. Let me go set a screen for somebody else, and I\u2019ll get them open.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Peper, the Violets\u2019 lone senior, reflected on her time with NYU after the loss, saying, \u201cThis team really means the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said to them at the end, you know, I couldn\u2019t have picked a better team to go out with,\u201d Peper said. \u201cThere\u2019s no other girls that I wanted to be my teammates this year. And I\u2019m hoping that they remember everything that I said to them as they continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust it\u2019s such a fun group of girls, and I\u2019d do anything for them, and I\u2019d do anything for another game with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barber said the Violets have a bright future but will take some time to reflect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis run, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve had a chance to really enjoy what has transpired,\u201d she said. \u201c(Peper) has all 91 games on her back to put her name to.\u201d<\/p>\n