The women’s basketball team played two University Athletic Conference games this weekend, losing one and winning the other. In a rematch of last weekend’s contests against the University of Rochester and Emory University, the Judges beat Rochester 60-52 Sunday afternoon after losing to Emory on 67-61 on Friday evening. Brandeis’ record now stands at 11-9 overall and 3-6 in UAA play.

Judges 60 Rochester 52

On Sunday the Judges played a balanced offensive game, with three players scoring in double digits and nine players scoring at least one point. Though Brandeis trailed 24-23 at halftime, they only allowed one field goal in the final 4:41 to secure the victory. 

Guard Paris Hodges ’17, who scored 15 points in the game, said the difference between last week’s game against Rochester–when the Judges lost 62-61– and this week’s game was that “we played hard throughout the entire game. We kept fighting until the end. The practice before a game is always important and we practiced hard and were very focused and it translated into the game.”

After a close first half, it seemed as if the game would see another tight finish, similar to last week’s contest. Though the game featured six ties and 12 lead changes, the Judges went on a 12-4 run to close the contest. Hodges said that, at halftime, coach Carol Simon emphasized just playing their game.

“Our coach reinforced the idea that we were in a good place and that we just had to continue to do what we do best,” Hodges said. “We got more movement in our motion offense and that helped us win the game.” 

Brandeis played a complete game on both sides of the ball. Defensively, Brandeis held Rochester to 26.8 percent shooting from the field and forced 20 turnovers. On the offensive side, guard Hannah Cain ’15 and center Olivia Shaw ’18 led the Judges with 18 points and 16 points, respectively, and Brandeis’ bench had a big impact, outscoring Rochester’s bench 38-24. 

Emory 67 Judges 61

Friday’s game saw the Judges make a pair of rallies before falling short to Emory. Coming off a 68-56 victory against Emory last weekend, the Judges faced an early deficit in this week’s contest. Though Brandeis shot 39.1 percent from the field in the first half, they trailed 42-31 at halftime. The Judges rallied to open the second half, outscoring the Eagles 21-8 over the first 8:41 of the half, highlighted by guard Frankie Pinto’s ’17 10 points. 

Brandeis took a 52-50 lead with 11:19 remaining following a shot from guard Heather Cain ’16, but Emory regained the lead for good nearly one minute later. The Judges rallied again late in the second half, cutting the deficit to 63-61 with 31 seconds remaining, but Emory secured an offensive rebound off of a missed foul-shot and capitalized, making the next two free-throws to seal the victory. 

Hodges said the team was unable to get past the early lead Emory built because it was unable to “limit turnovers and limit the opponent’s second chance opportunities.” Brandeis had 23 turnovers compared to just 10 for Emory and Emory scored 20 second-chance points, compared to just 13 for Brandeis.

Emory was led by junior guard Khadijah Sayyid, who scored 12 points to go along with one assist, one steal and three rebounds. 

The Judges return home this Friday when they host Carnegie Mellon University at 6 p.m before welcoming Case Western Reserve University on Sunday afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m.