BOSTON-With a 13-point lead in the first half of its second-round NCAA tournament game against Emmanuel College here Saturday, it looked like the women's basketball team was ready to take the next step in its rise to national prominence. But after a turnover-plagued game, the Judges found themselves back to where they were last year: just short of the Sweet 16.Thanks to an abysmal 35 turnovers, the Judges dropped a close second-round tournament game for the second year in a row, losing to the Saints 71-66. The win came after a 90-66 first-round blowout against the University of Maine at Farmington Friday night.

"At first, I thought the first trip to the NCAAs [last season] was harder, but as I thought about it, the effort it takes to maintain your play and stay at the top is very hard," coach Carol Simon told reporters after the game.

A year after making the tournament for the first time in the program's history, Brandeis finished the season 20-6. It's the fourth consecutive season during which the Judges have won at least 20 games.

Center Caitlin Malcolm '07 ended her prolific career with 23 points and a game-high 14 rebounds against Emmanuel Saturday, while guard Jessica Chapin '10 contributed 11 points off the bench. However, guard Jaime Capra '08, the team's leading scorer this season at 15.8 points per game, was held to just 10 points after she torched Maine the night before for 33 points.

Brandeis was stifled by Emmanuel's physical style of play and full-court press, and the Saints scored 36 points off the Judges' turnovers.

"We just couldn't break the press, and it led to too many turnovers," Simon said.

Coming into the game, the Saints were ranked second in the NCAA with 17 steals per game. They had 20 against Brandeis.

"Our game is full-court, 94 feet of pressure," Emmanuel coach Andy Yosinoff said at the post-game press conference.

Brandeis exploited a flaw in Emmanuel's full-court press in the first half-on several plays, the Judges would launch a downcourt pass to an open player, resulting in easy baskets. When multiple Saint defenders were used even before the ball crossed halfcourt, the lanes were open for Brandeis to drive to the basket. Malcolm took advantage of this in the first half.

But in the second half, the Judges let the Saints run their game-plan.

"We shifted away from using the zone defense, and we played the entire second half in man-to-man coverage," Coach Yosinoff at the post-game press conference. "We didn't give [Brandeis] any halfcourt game; every pass, we made them work for."

In contrast to the first half, when the Judges sank 60 percent of their shots, Brandeis went cold in the second half, shooting just 29 percent.

Things were easier Friday, with the Judges overpowering UMaine-Farmington from the outset of the game.

Capra led the team with a career-high 33 points. By the start of the second half, the Beavers were double- and triple-teaming her instead of Malcolm.

"The initial game plan was to post me up and try to get me easy shots inside," Capra said. "I started out that way with a couple layups, but for some reason my shots just felt really good, and they kept falling."

Instead of passing the ball around the perimeter looking for open shots, the Judges made aggressive cuts to the basket.

"Once we got into the flow, we knew we had it because we were running our stuff real well," said Coach Simon. "We took care of the ball so well, and we were making the extra pass."

The Judges shot a season-high 52 percent from the field, including 53 percent from three-point range. Kiersten Holgash '08 scored a career-high 12 points, and Alison Chase '07 contributed nine.

Brandeis will have to fill a major hole inside next season, as Malcolm, the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,412 career points and a three-time first team all-UAA performer, is graduating.

"There isn't a day when Caitlin didn't come out and play," Simon said. "She should have no regrets."

"It's great to hear people think of me as one of the driving forces for the success at Brandeis," Malcolm said.