CHICAGO, Ill. -- After holding a double-digit lead for most of the second half, the University of Chicago women's basketball team withstood a late rally and came away with a 72-68 victory over New York University on Sunday.

The Maroons improved to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in conference games. The Violets fell to 8-8 overall, including 1-4 in the UAA.

Despite committing six turnovers in the first six minutes, UChicago grabbed a 10-7 lead. The Maroons continuously got into the lane with their guards for close looks at the basket. When those didn't fall, they grabbed plenty of offensive rebounds (10 in first half) and scored putbacks (13 second-chance points in first half).

NYU was content to run its guards through screens and launch a bevy of three-pointers. But the Violets had a tough time converting, making only 3 of 19 threes and 8 of 30 overall in the opening half. Almost all the misses were corralled by the Maroons, who ended up with a 31-14 advantage on the boards.

Ellie Greiner gave the home side some breathing room at the end of the half. The sophomore forward converted a three-point play and a trey from distance to put her team up 33-22. UChicago went into halftime leading 35-24.

In the second half, the Maroons continued to go to the well for layups in the paint. The lead stayed between 10 and 16 points for much of the period, and the Maroons looked to be firmly in control. However, NYU began to find its rhythm on offense and converted long jumpers to whittle down the lead. Megan Dawe exerted her strength in the paint and scored back-to-back layups to bring the Violets within two points at one minute left in regulation.

On the subsequent possession, UChicago got a huge clutch three from freshman Paige Womack to push the lead back to five points. The guard pump-faked her defender and swished a trey from the right side as time ran out on the shot clock. A pair of free throws by Greiner clinched the game in the final 20 seconds.

The Maroons cancelled out their 18 turnovers with a dominating display on the boards. UChicago outrebounded NYU 50-30, including 15-5 on the offensive end.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage - 42.4 percent (28-66)
Three-point percentage - 23.5 percent (4-17)
Free-throw percentage - 85.7 percent (12-14)
Paige Womack - 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Ellie Greiner - 13 points, 5 rebounds
Claire Devaney - 12 points, 9 rebounds

NYU Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal percentage - 38.5 percent (25-65)
Three-point percentage - 21.2 percent (7-33)
Free-throw percentage - 91.7 percent (11-12)
Megan Dawe - 20 points, 6 rebounds
Nicole Lem - 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals
Riley Wurtz - 11 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds

NEXT GAME: Tuesday, Jan. 22 - UChicago at Marian (Wis.) University, 7 PM.