The Judges have had mixed results in the past week of play, splitting the games 2-2. The Judges defeated Washington University in St. Louis and Regis College, but fell to the University of Chicago and New York University. The team looks ahead to their next game, a home game against University Athletic Association competitor University of Rochester on Friday. The rest of the season is conference play, which will determine playoff seeding.

Judges 63, Chicago 72

A hard fought battle on Sunday left the Judges defeated by the University of Chicago, dropping Brandeis to a 9-4 overall record and a 1-2 mark in UAA play. Following the first quarter, Chicago claimed a 23-14 lead over the Judges. During the second quarter, the Judges outscored the Maroons 16-10, leaving the Judges closer, but still behind a a 33-30 lead favoring the Maroons. In the second half, the Judges still failed to come back and capture a lead, but fought a strong fight as they outscored Chicago 12-2 in the last 4:32 of the third period. In fact, with 9:38 left in the game, Judges guard Noel Hodges ’18 tied the game at 52-52. However, the Maroons’ sophomore forward Taylor Lake scored the next seven points in the game, solidifying a victory for Chicago.

Judges 92,  WashU 84

On Friday, the Judges were victorious over UAA competitor Washington University in St. Louis, improving their record to 9-3 (1-1 in UAA play). The Judges ended the first quarter trailing behind the Bears with a score of 19-17; however, a strong second quarter helped give the Judges a victory. The second quarter success was sparked by consecutive three-pointers by Casanueva and guard Katie Goncalo ’20. Additionally, Goncalo scored 11 points in the second quarter alone, the same amount of points that the entire WashU team scored in that quarter. At the half, a layup by forward Jillian Petrie ’21 increased the lead to 15 points.  Although the Bears scored the next of the game’s nine points, lessening the lead to 45-39, the Judges were able to maintain their lead throughout the rest of the game.

Judges 64, NYU 76

On Saturday, the Judges fell to 8-3 after a loss to NYU. Although the team was able to diminish a 20-point deficit to five points, this was not enough to pull ahead and come away with a victory. Although the Judges scored the first points of the game, NYU then scored the next 12 points, with NYU graduate student guard Kaitlyn Read scoring eight of these points in a row. The Violets’ momentum was halted in the quarter with a four-point play by Casanueva. Nicholson scored two free throws to narrow the score in the quarter to 16-13, but Read would add more points to the scoreboard to end the first quarter with a 27-17 lead for NYU. In the second quarter, the Judges scored 14, however, the Violets closed the quarter strong and ended the half with a 44-31 lead. Opening the second half, the Violets scored the first seven points of the third quarter and as the rest of the half unfolded, were able to maintain a steady lead that resulted in a final score of 76-64.

Judges 60, Regis 50

On Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Judges improved to 8-2 with a successful fight against the Regis College Pride. The Judges proved victorious right out of the gate holding a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the remaining three quarters, the Judges would maintain their lead and prove an unstoppable force, situating themselves ahead at 25-19 at the half and 44-35 after the third quarter. Nicholson and Petrie were the top scorers in the game with a combined scoring total of 23 points. Additionally, Goncalo was a major contributor to the game defensively, posting  six rebounds and playing a very impressive game.