The women's basketball team began its season with great success this weekend at its annual Tip-Off Tournament, held Friday and Saturday at Gosman. Brandeis' wins over invitees Daniel Webster College and Gallaudet University earned the Judges first place in the tournament. This distinction was well merited: Brandeis beat Daniel Webster 91-29 and defeated Gallaudet 95-65.On Friday evening, the Judges opened their season before a crowd of approximately 150 fans. Highlights of the predominately one-sided game against Daniel Webster included two double-doubles, put up by junior forwards Danielle Fitzpatrick '04 (co-captain) and Audra Lissell '04, and significant scoring by guard Jayne Wise '04 (co-captain) and forward Beth Garbutt '06.

Gallaudet University subsequently faced Nichols College and won their bout 85-55.

Saturday, Nichols and Daniel Webster competed in a consolation match. Nichols was victorious, winning by a final score of 77-57.

Brandeis then took to the court to face Gallaudet, with around 200 fans present.

Gallaudet is a Washington D.C.-based university specializing in undergraduate and graduate programs for deaf and hard of hearing, as well as hearing students. Presumably, the majority of the Gallaudet players were deaf or hard of hearing. They communicated with their coach and between each other entirely in sign language, and many of their fans were communicating in American Sign Language, as well.

"(Playing against Gallaudet) was a good learning experience," Fitzpatrick said. "It was really interesting because a big thing on our team is communication, and they couldn't really do that. Their having the ability to be where they were supposed to be on defense was really incredible to see. It's pretty amazing. They taught us a lot."

The Gallaudet team played a tough game, keeping Brandeis on its feet throughout the first half. The score at half time was 41-30 Brandeis; the Judges came out in the second half to score 15 points to Gallaudet's four in the first four minutes of play, and continued strong throughout the half to ensure victory.

"I think that we played really well as a team," first-year starter Amanda Demartino '06 said. "We just worked really well together. As a whole, our team shot really well from the outside, which contributed to our victory."

After the game, the tournament awards ceremony took place. This ceremony honored tournament champion Brandeis and runner-up Gallaudet, and featured the selection of an all-tournament team and a tournament MVP. The all-tournament team included Brandeis' Wise and Lissell, Gallaudet's Cassey Ellis and Kristin Feldman, and Nichols' Kristine O'Coin. Fitzpatrick was named tournament MVP.

"Obviously I'm happy (about the award)," Fitzpatrick said, "but I think that as a team we played really well, and that without my teammates we could have done nothing. I think we're really coming together as a team and it's really good to see us coming together this early."

"For me, the highlight of the weekend was winning both games by such a large margin and showing everyone what a good team we can be; showing how our hard work has paid off," Fitzpatrick said. "We've been working really hard in the past few weeks and it really came together. I think that we're going deep this year. We have a lot of players that are really good in a lot of positions. We are all willing to work really hard."

It's not all work and no play for the team, though.

"It's a lot of fun," Megan Magoon '06 said. "The group of girls, we all get along really well. The margin that we won by Saturday was impressive. The tempo of the game was always up-tempo and we started to play the kind of game that we wanted to play all season."

One of the weekend's highlights was the presence of perennial Brandeis basketball fan Allen Karon '91. As an undergraduate, Karon was awarded a trophy by former men's basketball coach Kevin O'Brien designating him "#1 Fan," a title that he has continued to live up to as an alumnus. At the Tip-Off Tournament, Karon offered his support to the team through cheers and half-time dances.

"This is my alma mater, and I follow (the team) on a regular basis," Karon said. "We will be a very competitive team in the UAA this season. We might even pull off some surprises. I would love to go through the non-conference part of the schedule undefeated. We haven't been able to do that in years."

The team will have a chance to prove itself tonight against Wellesley at home. The game starts at 7 p.m.