Sunday, the Brandeis women's basketball team defeated their second nationally-ranked opponent of the season, as they toppled visiting University of Rochester 50-49 at a raucous Auerbach Arena.The Judges, who are now 13-8 overall and 6-5 in UAA competition, defeated the favored Yellowjackets behind the game-high 18 points of center Danielle Fitzpatrick '04. After giving up the first two baskets of the game, Brandeis countered with a three-point field goal from Co-captain Jayne Wise '04 and a lay-up from Fitzpatrick. The Judges took a commanding 23-15 lead into halftime and would never relinquish that cushion.

In a losing effort, Rochester was led by junior guard Erika Smith (17 points in 37 minutes) and sophomore guard Kelly Wescott (13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds). The Yellowjackets suffered from dreadful 18 percent first-half shooting.

With Rochester trailing 39-31 with 11 minutes to play, the visitors made their last run, scoring eight of the game's next 10 points to cut the lead to just two.

Brandeis off-guard Lisa Pritzlaff '05 was ecstatic about the win, particularly the Judges' defensive effort. "That was a pretty important win, because they're ranked in the country, and beating them was a good sign of what we can do in the post-season," she said. "Our defense was the most important part of the game. We played such good team defense and were just able to stop them from scoring."

The Rochester victory cemented a stellar weekend of play for Head Coach Carol Simon's surging squad. Pritzlaff, who remarked that the coach has "enough suits to wear a different outfit every game," also added that the Judges could get an additional home game if they qualify for post-season play.

Friday, Brandeis captured a crucial four-point victory over UAA foe Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The 66-62 win over the visiting Tartans helped the Judges recover from a 91-63 thrashing by top-ranked Washington University.

Against CMU, the Judges completed a season-sweep of the Tartans, as Fitzpatrick and Lisa Pritzlaff scored 18 apiece and Wise added 13. Sharp-shooting CMU guard Carissa Sain was a thorn in Brandeis' side all game long, scoring a game-high 26 points that included an astounding six three-pointers.

The Judges, normally a team that leads early and maintains momentum, were forced to overcome a seven-point second half deficit at home. After Brandeis took a 45-43 lead with eleven and-a-half minutes remaining, another Sain trey put CMU up one. Brandeis responded immediately by scoring 12 of the game's next 16 points.

Overall, Simon's starting five of Fitzpatrick, Wise, Pritzlaff, point guard Amanda DeMartino '06 and forward Audra Lissell '04 carried the load for the Judges, scoring a combined 58 points.

Friday, the Judges travel to Atlanta to battle Emory University,who they trampled 71-47 on Jan. 26 in Waltham. The Eagles recently endured three consecutive losses to Carnegie Mellon, WashU and the University of Chicago. They are led by forward Stephanie Seibert, who averages 12 points per contest. The game will be played at the Woodruff PE Center in Atlanta.