The women's basketball team went on the road against Emory University and Case Western Reserve University this weekend, two teams at the bottom of the University Athletic Association they had handily defeated at home the weekend before. But with every last game critical to the Judges' quest to make the NCAA tournament, the team faltered away from home, falling to Emory 62-52 Friday before rebounding with a 58-52 win against Case 58-52 Sunday. The Judges, ranked No. 15 by d3hoops.com after the game, fell to 15-3, including 6-3 in the UAA."If we had gone 2-0 this weekend, it would have given us a little leeway," captain Amanda DeMartino '06 said. "But now, if we want to make the tournament, all games from here on out are must-wins."

In the Judges' rebound victory over Case in Cleveland, Brandeis came out strong, hitting 5-11 three-point attempts in the first 20 minutes and going into halftime with a 31-21 advantage. After holding Case's leading scorers without a basket in the first half, the Judges eased up in the second and allowed the Spartans to pull things close, eventually cutting the margin to four points with 35 seconds to play before holding on for the win.

"We know this was a must-win," coach Carol Simon said. "We knew we couldn't go 0-2 on the road."

For the second time in three games, three Brandeis starters scored in double figures as captain Christine Clancy '06 led the team with 14, while Jaime Capra '08 recorded 13 and Caitlin Malcolm '07 added 10.

"It was a really good battle," Clancy said. "They kept it close the whole way and we were struggling, so it was a good win to pull off."

But the Judges saw tougher times Friday against the Eagles. The loss marked the team's second consecutive road loss, the first coming against No. 2 Washington University in St. Louis on Jan. 22. The game remained close throughout as the Judges fought through seven ties and four lead changes to finish the first half ahead 31-26. But the Judges relinquished the lead in the second and were unable to pull off the win as Emory took the lead for good with 11 minutes left in the game.

It's a very different game when you get to somebody else's home court," Simon said. "We just didn't shoot well in the second half. I don't think we played poorly, but we didn't shoot well, and Emory just played better."

The game was also a notable milestone for Malcolm, as her team-leading 19 points boosted her total career points over the 1,000 point mark, and she finished the weekend with a career total of 1,005. She was the only Brandeis player to hit double figures, while Capra added nine and Allison Chase '07 scored eight. Malcolm also paced the Judges in rebounding, grabbing 11 while Clancy recorded 10.

"It didn't really feel as special as it should have felt scoring over 1,000 points," Malcolm said. "I think that was really hard for me but I also don't think I deserved to do it in that game."

After splitting their second consecutive road trip, the Judges now face another slide in the national rankings as well as the UAA conference standings. The inconsistency against low-ranked UAA teams on road trips has been the major stumbling block on the team's path to the NCAA Championships in the past, and it is threatening to be the story again this season.

"It's always tough on the road because you don't have the home court advantage," Demartino said. "But we're all aware of that and sooner or later it just comes to a point where we have to step up. When you go on the road and win games back to back it shows what a good team you are because good teams win all their games at home and great teams win all their games on the road and we haven't really taken care of that."

With just five games left in the regular season, all of which are conference opponents, and one more UAA weekend away, every game is a must win situation. In order for the team to achieve its ultimate goal, an NCAA tournament berth, the Judges must go 5-0 for the rest of the season.

"At this point, they are all must wins," Simon said. "Because the league is so close, everybody knows you've got to win out."

That will have to start on the road, as the Judges visit the University of Rochester Friday before traveling to Carnegie Mellon University Sunday at 3 p.m.