The women’s basketball team found themselves trailing at the tail end of regulation in a back-and-forth contest in the championship game of the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament on Sunday afternoon. Looking for their third ECAC title in school history, the sixth-seeded Judges were down 61-58 to the top-seed Westfield State University with just over one minute remaining in a contest that had already featured six ties and nine lead changes.

With eight seconds left on the shot clock, guard Paris Hodges ’17 dished the ball to guard Niki Laskaris ’16, who was left alone at the three-point line. Laskaris, the Judges’ second-leading scorer in three-pointers, netted her fourth three of the game to even Brandeis with the Owls and send the game to overtime, where the Judges controlled play from wire-to-wire and walked away with a 75-65 victory.

“Toward the end of the game when things were tight we all just kept high energy and positive attitudes,” explained guard Hannah Cain ’15, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.  “We knew we had to work together and stay composed and in order to do that we had to play together and trust one another.  If any of us made a mistake we never dwelled on it, we just forgot about it immediately and moved on to the next play.” 

“It feels great to end my career with a title because it's nice knowing that I was part of a team who did something positive for the women's basketball program,” she added. “Being named [Most Outstanding Player] is also a nice way to end my career although I think the award could have been given to a number of players on our team.  Everyone contributed to each win and everyone made big plays.” 

The Judges conclude their season with their third ECAC title in school history and their first since the 2004 to 2005 season to go along with a 16-12 record, their second-straight winning season. Brandeis ended its season on a three-game winning streak after sweeping the tournament’s top three seeds Sunday, Saturday and last Wednesday.

JUDGES 75, WESTFIELD STATE 65

Brandeis began Sunday’s championship game on a flat note as the visiting Owls went on a 14-9 run over the game’s opening four minutes. That would end up as Westfield State’s largest lead, as the two teams played a back-and-forth first half that featured four ties before the hosts went on a 6-0 run to open a 35-21 lead with two minutes, 13 seconds left in the first half.

The Judges took a 34-26 lead into the halftime break and began the second half on a cold-streak, allowing the Owls to tie the game at 37 apiece with 15:53 remaining in the half. The two teams traded the lead over the middle third of the half, punctuated by a Laskaris three-pointer—three of her team-high 18 points—that gave the Judges a 40-39 lead with 13:45 left in the half and set the stage for her late-game three-pointer to send the championship to overtime.

Though Westfield State converted 36 percent of their shots, the Judges held the visitors to four points and one field goal in the overtime session and added 14 points of their own to claim the crown. Hannah Cain scored six of her 13 points in the extra overtime period and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, averaging 12.3 points during the three-game tournament.

Brandeis pulled down a season-high 59 rebounds in the victory led by a career-best 16 boards from guard Sydney Sodine ’17, including nine on the offensive glass.

“We didn't particularly focus on rebounding before the tournament but it was just something that our coaches have been instilling in us from day one and it happened to really pay off this weekend,” Hannah Cain remarked.

Sodine and the entire squad were resilient in the critical final minutes of the game. She commented that “the whole team had a really confident attitude down the stretch in regulation … We were well prepared and comfortable playing in a close game with limited time on the clock.”

JUDGES 91, EMMANUEL 78

The Judges punched their ticket to the championship game with a 91-78 victory over the second-seed Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon, their second win over the Saints this season.

Guard Frankie Pinto ’17 led the way for the hosts with 23 points and seven rebounds, while Hannah Cain added 16 points and four assists. The Judges put four players—Pinto, Hannah Cain, Sodine and guard Heather Cain ’16—in double figures during their highest-scoring game of the season.

The Judges and Saints previously squared off on Nov. 25, when Brandeis walked away with a 66-54 victory on a low 35.3 percent shooting. On Saturday, the Judges converted 28 of their field-goal attempts for a 46.7 shooting percentage and added a season-high nine three-pointers at a 60.0 shooting percentage.

Brandeis pulled down 53 rebounds in the contest and controlled the paint with 17 offensive boards. Sodine grabbed five offensive rebounds as part of her game-high 11 boards to go along with her 14 points. Sodine remarked, “rebounding has been an emphasis all season ... [We have focused on] boxing out on the defensive end and crashing the boards.”

JUDGES 63, ROGER WILLIAMS 44

The Judges opened the ECAC tournament last Wednesday against the third-seed Roger Williams University and used Pinto’s 15 points to ease their way into the second round with a 63-44 victory.

Brandeis led from start to finish, beginning with a Hannah Cain jumper at the 18:35 mark of the first half before opening a lead as large as 44-32 midway through the second half.

The squad shot 35.1 percent from the field, converting 20 buckets and turning 21 Roger Williams turnovers into 17 points. Hodges added 10 points off the bench and pulled down seven rebounds while Sodine grabbed a game-high 12 boards in the victory.

“We all played with a lot of heart and our coaches coached with a lot of heart,” Hannah Cain said.  “All of us just really wanted this win and wanted to end our season on a high note.  I think we really executed and took care of business when we needed to and everyone did their job and contributed to each win.”

Brandeis concludes its season at 16-12, its 16th winning season under head coach Carol Simon.

This article was updated on Mar. 10 to reflect the quotes of Hannah Cain.