The women's basketball team added two more opponents to the growing list of teams to fall victim to its undefeated run. Brandeis toppled host Worcester Polytechnic Institute 78-60 on Wednesday before blowing out Western New England College 63-38 at home on Saturday. The victories lift the No. 3 Judges to 6-0 heading into the winter vacation before starting their tougher UAA conference schedule in January.

In the game versus WNEC, the Judges capped off the semester with their most dominating performance yet. Brandeis never trailed in the contest, holding the Golden Bears to just one field goal in the first 10 minutes and giving up just 12 points in the entire first half.

The Judges forced 13 Golden Bear turnovers in the first half alone, and Brandeis forced WNEC to shoot a dismal five for 22.

The Judges started the second half with a 15-4 run in the first five minutes. The defense continued to harass WNEC, causing four turnovers in the first five minutes, including a five-second in-bounds violation.

The Golden Bears put up 26 points in the second half, but still fell short of 40 points, the second time in three games Brandeis' opponents have been held to less than 40.

Kiersten Holgash's '08 defensive play against Golden Bears' Catherine Thurston with just over a minute left forced her to miss a fast break lay-up and allowed the Judges to hold their opponent at 38 points.

Brandeis scored a significant amount of its points off turnovers, capitalizing on 25 of them to score 29 points. The Judges out-rebounded the Golden Bears 37-34.

"We executed exactly to the game plan," coach Carol Simon said. "We took away their two best players and our intensity level was great, we just came out with such fire."

Caitlin Malcolm '07 led the Judges on offense with 18 points while captain Christine Clancy '06 recorded 15 and Jaime Capra '08 added 10.

Clancy dominated the boards, pacing the Judges with six rebounds while captain Amanda DeMartino '06 grabbed five.

DeMartino credited the Judges' lively performance to the semester's ending.

"It was our last game before break so we just wanted to come out, play hard and leave everything on the floor," DeMartino said. "No one wanted to end a great first semester with a loss. Everyone was really proud today, we were talking well, rotating well, and everything just seemed to click."

Capra added, "We played like it was a must-win game and it ended up being a big win."

The Judges had a bit more trouble handling WPI on Wednesday, as a late-game defensive lapse saw the Engineers rack up 20 points in the seven minutes.

The Judges led 37-20 at the end of the first half and came out strong in the second, but the defensive breakdown allowed WPI to get back into the game, with the Engineers scoring a whopping 40 points in the second half. But the Judges out-rebounded WPI 36-31 and held on for the narrow win.

Jaime Capra '08 led the Judges with a season-high 24 points, while Caitlin Malcolm '07 scored 18 and Alison Chase '07 added 13. Capra and Malcolm also paced the Judges on the boards, grabbing five rebounds apiece.

"We played really well for 33 minutes," Simon said. "We broke down in the last seven minutes and gave them 20 points, but other than that we played really well."

With a 6-0 record, the Judges now have time to prepare for the conference competition that lies ahead. Although the Judges have the highest national ranking in the conference, three other teams-New York University, Chicago University and Washington University-are also undefeated.

"I don't think we are playing our best yet, which is a good thing because you don't want to peak in the first semester," Simon said. "If we continue to keep growing, there will be good things for us."

The Judges will take a three-week hiatus and open 2006 versus Endicott College in Beverly, Mass. on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m.