WBBALL: Squad defeats Chicago to snap two-game skid
The No. 19 women's basketball team had seen its 36-19 halftime lead against University Athletic Association opponent No. 20 University of Chicago whittled to just five points with 3 minutes, 13 seconds left in last Sunday's game. A Chicago comeback victory would have dropped the Judges to a lowly 2-5 in the UAA and significantly damaged their chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year. But at that moment, guard Lauren Rashford '10 gave the Judges necessary breathing room as she caught a pass from forward Lauren Orlando '09 and hit a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Judges a 55-47 lead.
"That was just great ball movement," Rashford said. "It was just a great team play, a team effort. We were just swinging the ball around, and it hit me in the corner."
The Maroons would not get any closer as the Judges rebounded for a 63-53 win after losing at home last Friday to No. 24 Washington University in St. Louis 61-55. The win improves the Judges to 13-4 on the season and 3-4 after the first half of the UAA schedule.
Chicago first began to chip away at the Brandeis lead at the start of the second half. The Maroons took advantage of six Brandeis turnovers, three by Rashford, to go on a 12-0 run to pull within five points at 36-31. For the game the Maroons scored 23 points off 23 Brandeis turnovers while the Judges scored just six points off 17 Chicago turnovers.
"We came back in the beginning of the second half; we just weren't as aggressive defensively," coach Carol Simon said. "We were very flat, we made some really bad decisions on offense, and that made us really have to work that much harder during the game."
Guard Jessica Chapin '10 then hit a jumper to stop the Chicago run, but two more Chicago field goals made the score 39-35 with 12:24 left. Brandeis then found its rhythm again, going on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 48-35 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Reserve forward Amanda Wells '09, who had a season-high eight points off the bench, scored six of the Judges' points during the run. The rest of the Judges' bench was strong as well, outscoring Chicago's 21-16.
"One thing we really stress is that we are a team of 16, 17 girls; we're not just five here, a couple there. Everyone contributes; everyone is part of the team," reserve forward Amber Strodthoff '11 said. "Whether you play 20 minutes or five minutes or not at all, everyone's still crucial, everyone's still important, and I guess our saying is 'We live together, we die together. . We win together, we lose together,' and we all live by that mentality."
The Maroons would not go away, pulling within five again before Rashford's three-pointer. From there the Judges led by as much as 12 before going on to win by 10.
Rashford's three-pointer was part of her team-leading 18 points. Chapin was the only other Brandeis player in double figures, scoring 12 while also grabbing 8 rebounds.
Brandeis did well on the defensive end, holding the Maroons to 32 percent shooting, yet struggled in its own shooting, going just 5-17 from three-point range for the game including 2-11 in the second half.
The Judges shot the ball far worse, however, in their six-point loss to Wash U. They hit just one of their 23 three-point attempts, and the one converted three-pointer came in the final seconds with the game already decided, when Lauren Rashford '10 banked in a desperation 30-foot shot from the top of the key.
The Judges took an early lead, only to fall behind 24-23 with 2:01 left in the first half. The Judges then rallied to retake the lead, 41-40, on a traditional three-point play by Chapin where she scored a two-point field goal, drew a foul and converted the ensuing free-throw. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Bears quickly went back on top on a layup by senior forward Jaimie McFarlin with 8:21 left. WashU never trailed the rest of the way.
Simon said the team did not think they could have done anything differently in the game to change the outcome, other than to convert on the opportunities they had.
"We had open shots we missed ...," she said. "There's no magical answer for that"
Brandeis next heads out on a four-game road trip, starting with these same two teams. The Judges play at Chicago Friday at 6 p.m. and at Wash U Sunday at 2 p.m
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