Victory is sweet, but victory at home against a nationally-ranked opponent in just the second game of the season is even sweeter. The women's basketball team, ranked No. 8 in the country by D3hoops.com, defeated No. 17 Bates College 73-62 Saturday in the championship round of the annual Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Brandeis. The Judges downed Salve Regina University 69-53 in the first round on Friday night before ousting Bates the next night to start the season 2-0.The Judges came out strong in the title game, dominating the Bobcats on offense and headed into halftime with a 33-25 advantage. Brandeis' only hiccup was at the start of the second half, when it allowed Bates to go on a 12-5 run and pull to within one point. But the Judges responded quickly, coming out of a time out to score 12 unanswered points over five minutes.

The Judges never led by fewer than ten points the rest of the game as they rolled on to win their fourth Tip-Off Tournament title in a row.

"We really raised the intensity level up a notch," coach Carol Simon said. "We really just wanted to go out and play our game. Beating a top-ranked team in the second game of the season really means a lot."

Brandeis out-rebounded the Bobcats 50-36, as four Judges scored in double figures. Forward Caitlin Malcolm '07, named the tournament's MVP, led the Judges with a game-high 21 points while captains Christine Clancy '06 and Amanda DeMartino '06 added 16 and ten points respectively and Jaime Capra '08 recorded 11. Malcolm also led the team in rebounding with eight while Clancy pulled down seven. Capra and Clancy were both named to the All-Tournament Team to go along with Malcolm's MVP.

"We've been getting a lot of slack for the past few years because the competition hasn't been so good in the Tip-Off Tournament so we always win," DeMartino said. "It really helps us out to play such a good team because now we've been tested early in the season."

On Friday, the Judges topped Salve Regina University 69-53 in the first round of the tournament. The team struggled at the outset, but went on a 19-4 run in the first half to take the lead for good. The Judges had a 17-point cushion going into the break and cruised to their first win of the season. Clancy paced Brandeis with 14 points while Capra added 13 and Malcolm knocked down 12. The Judges dominated the Seahawks on the glass 41-28 and had an impressive 18-5 advantage from the free-throw line.

Although Brandeis never trailed in the contest, players expressed disappointment with the opener.

"We knew we were the better team so we just coasted through it," Clancy said. "But we did what we had to do to win."

Although the Judges returned four of their five starters this year, the six new recruits raise some intriguing questions about the team's chemistry. Now, only two games into the season, some of those questions have already been answered.

After trying out multiple line-ups and many substitutions during the tournament, players say they came away from the two games with a better sense of their new team as well as the victories.

"Right now we're just trying to find out what works," DeMartino said. "We have a lot of good players, but it's about finding the right combination."

Simon stressed the Judges' team-oriented philosophy as important to integrating the new players.

"We don't rely on just one person," she said.

Players cited rebounding and defense as keys to a successful season.

"Defense is the thing that's going to get us to the NCAA tournament," DeMartino said. "That's the one thing we have to keep working on throughout the season."

The Judges look to extend their winning streak when they take on host Wellesley College tonight at 7 p.m.

Editor's Note: Kiersten Holgash '08, pictured on the left side of the top photo, is a writer for the Justice.