After trailing for nearly the entire game against Kenyon College in the championship round of the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament last Saturday, the women's basketball team rallied to take a 49-46 lead with 7 minutes, 19 seconds to play on center Lauren Orlando's '09 third layup in a three-minute stretch. Yet Brandeis was unable to maintain the advantage, as Kenyon denied the Judges their sixth consecutive Tip-Off Tournament title with a 67-62 victory. The loss was Brandeis' first defeat in a regular-season non-conference game since 2003 and dropped the Judges to 1-1 following last Friday's 77-38 win over Mt. Holyoke College.

"We really needed to put 40 minutes together today to pull out the [win]," captain and point guard Kiersten Holgash '08 said.

The Judges failed to build an early lead despite their attempts to exert pressure on defense. Kenyon hit six three-pointers and led by as many as 14 points in the first half.

"[Kenyon's] a good team; they're an athletic team; I just thought they were dictating in the first half both offensively and defensively, so we were on our heels the whole time," coach Carol Simon said.

Kenyon led 22-8 with 11:22 left in the first half, but the Judges were able to chip away at the lead thanks to flawless free-throw shooting by reserve forwards Amanda Wells '09 and Amber Strodthoff '11, who finished a combined nine for nine at the line. Then, with 17 seconds remaining in the first half, captain and guard Jaime Capra '08, who made just three of her 14 shot attempts, beat the shot clock with a layup, pulling the Judges to within 33-25 at halftime.

Orlando, who finished with 18 points and six rebounds, took charge in the second half. She scored the Judges' first five points after the break, including a three-pointer that cut Kenyon's lead to 35-30 with 17:36 remaining.

"The second half I just knew that I had to do better than the first half," Orlando said. "We were down, so we had to get every opportunity to get the ball and push it up the court."

Tournament Most Valuable Player Alisha Moreno countered with a three-pointer of her own to push Kenyon's lead to eight, but timely support from Brandeis' bench pulled the Judges even.

Reserve guard Carmela Breslin '10 came in for Capra and hit two straight field goals, including a three-pointer. Strodthoff then hit a jump shot to cut the lead to three, and on the ensuing Kenyon possession, she stole the ball. Eventually on the play, fellow rookie Diana Cincotta '11 fed guard Jessica Chapin '10, who hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 40 with 14:09 to go.

Kenyon stretched the lead back to four, but Orlando scored six straight points to put the Judges ahead for the first time in the second half.

"[Orlando] did a better job second-half today, especially defensively," Simon said. "First half she was getting hurt a little bit, . but then she adjusted, started to get on the board, got some easy shots and used her muscle."

The rest of the game was a back-and-forth battle that included five ties. Kenyon led 63-59 with 1:11 remaining, but Capra, who scored just nine points in the game, hit a running jumper, was fouled and converted the free throw to cut the lead to one with 49 seconds remaining.

The Judges pressed on the ensuing possession, and the referee initially called a five-second closely-guarded violation on Kenyon, which would have given Brandeis the ball with 25 seconds remaining. After a short conference, however, the officials reversed the call, concluding that Kenyon had called a timeout before the whistle was blown.

"You can't change the call, but I don't think that it was a very good call," Orlando said. "I thought that was one of the main reasons that cost us the game at the end."

With the ball back in Kenyon's possession, senior forward Eva George beat out the shot clock to give Kenyon a three-point cushion. Brandeis had one last chance to tie the score, but Capra's wild three-point attempt missed badly with eight seconds remaining.

"It really came down to those last two minutes; it became a possession game and we just didn't get it done, bottom line," Simon said.

In last Friday night's victory against Mt. Holyoke, Brandeis dominated play from the start. In a game in which 14 Judges played for at least nine minutes each, Chapin led the team with 15 points, and Orlando finished with 12. The tandem represented Brandeis on the all-tournament team.

The Judges look to bounce back at Wellesley College tonight at 7 p.m.