Down by one with just under two minutes left in Saturday's home game against New York University, the women's basketball vowed not to lose the game.But not even the boldest of guarantees, this one made during a timeout huddle, could overcome NYU's stifling second-half defensive effort Saturday, as the Judges lost to their University Athletic Association rival 59-53. Though Brandeis came out strong and led by eight at halftime, the Violets tough second-half defense shut down the Judges, forcing them into 19 percent shooting for the half and 22 total turnovers.

Brandeis fell to 11-2 overall and 1-2 in the UAA.

"Offensively, NYU really took us out of our game with their pressure defense," coach

Carol Simon said. "We played well the first half, but we knew NYU was going to bump up their pressure defensively in the second half, and we didn't handle that well."

The Judges' strong defense contributed to their first-half dominance, as they held the normally explosive Violets to just 26 points. Brandeis forced 14 turnovers for the half and had 12 steals, led by six from guard Allison Chase's '07.

The team's offense was also in full swing early, as forward Courtney Tremblay's '07 three-pointer gave the Judges an 18-7 advantage with about 12 minutes to go in the half.

Though the Judges did shoot a mediocre 29 percent from the floor in the half, they had 11 offensive rebounds, giving them plenty of second-chance opportunities on offense.

"We were really boxing out well in the first half, we were getting a lot more offensive and defensive rebounding than we have in the past," guard Kiersten Holgash '08 said.

The Judges entered halftime with an impressive 34-26 lead, but the Violets dramatically took control of the game after the break.

"NYU was really pushing their defense out against us in the second half and making it a lot harder to run our sets," Holgash said. "It was a lot harder for our guards and post players to get open."

With about 10 minutes left and the Judges clinging to a five-point lead, the Violets began a 14-0 run that put them ahead for good.

The run, which lasted just four minutes, started when Violet senior guard Adrienne Rochetti hit a jumper with 9 1/2 minutes remaining. After four turnovers and four missed shots, the Judges found themselves down 53-44 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

But down by nine with about five minutes remaining, the Judges were not about to crumble. They started a run of their own when forward Jamie Capra '07, who led Brandeis with 19 points, hit two straight three-pointers. With 2 1/2 minutes left, Malcolm hit two free throws to bring the score to 53-52. But that was the closest the Judges got.

Although the Violets defensive intensity allowed them to control the Judges, Malcolm believed that the Judges' carelessness on offense also contributed to the loss.

"I think we were just impatient," Malcolm said. "They played tough defense, but I think we still could have run our plays through. I think it was about us not taking care of the ball."

Malcolm-who averages 14.1 points per game on 48 percent shooting-shot 2-9 for just seven points.

"I think I just didn't shoot the ball well," Malcolm said. "I know I'm going to get doubled and triple teamed. Yesterday I just had an off day."

The loss at NYU was the Judges' second UAA defeat, after losing at Rochester 69-59 Jan. 5. The team's lone UAA victory came two days later in a win 71-42 road win over Carnegie Mellon University.

But Saturday's loss carried an extra disappointment: one of the Judges' preseason goals was to go undefeated at home. However, the Judges are only looking forward to the rest of the season and a rematch with the Violets.

"We lost one of our goals yesterday, but we can't dwell too much on the loss because we have two big UAA games this weekend." Holgash said. "And we are going to get NYU back when we play them on their home court and on their senior day."

Continuing their UAA schedule this week, the Judges host Case Western Reserve University Friday at 6 p.m. and Emory University Sunday at 2 p.m.