"Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares. And she can win you a few basketball games. Well, maybe Solomon wasn't concerned with basketball per se. But, if it is the case that the owl is the wisest of birds, then Sunday's women's basketball game -- a home contest versus UAA foe Emory University -- proved conclusively that wisdom indeed trumps all other virtues.

Before a crowd of 200 that included Brandeis' unofficial mascot, alumnus Allen Karon '91, the Judges (whose real mascot is the all-knowing Ollie) overwhelmed Emory, beating the 7-6 Eagles m by an impressive 24 (71-47). The victory came in a timely fashion, ending the team's week-long three-game losing skid. The streak, which began with a crushing two-point home loss to NYU, culminated Friday when the Judges were soundly defeated by visiting Case Western Reserve University (69-57).

"As much as it was discouraging, because everybody on our team hates to lose," point-guard Amanda Demartino '06 said of the team's three losses, "we really just learned that we needed to step it up. Before the game, we told ourselves that there was no way that we were going to lose."

True to its vows, Brandeis dominated the first half of play against Emory. The Judges maintained a comfortable lead throughout, despite the absence of starting center Audra Lissell '04, who was out with an injured foot. Lissell was ably replaced by 6'2" Christine Clancy '06, who filled in admirably with six points in 22 minutes. The team played a fairly conservative, yet solid offensive game throughout the first half. Thanks in large part to Lisa Pritzlaff's '05 perimeter dominance (she finished with a season-high 29 points on the afternoon), the Judges took a 10-point lead into halftime.

The second half proved to be even more fruitful both offensively and defensively, as Brandeis outscored a flustered Emory squad by 14.

"We did a really good job on defense and boxing out," Demartino said. "And, we did it as a team, which made it all the better to win."

The Judges face Babson College at home tonight before traveling to Washington University on Friday.