In one smooth motion, women's basketball guard Carmella Breslin '10 caught a pass at the 3-point line and knocked down a basket to break a 23-23 tie and help spark life back into the No. 9 Judges in last Saturday afternoon's game against the Bates College Bobcats. The Judges rose to victory in the two-day, four-game Brandeis Basketball Classic over the weekend and clinched the title with a 63-41 win over Bates. The win over Bates followed a 56-49 win over the Wentworth Institute of Technology to open the tournament. The Judges are now 4-0 to start the season after having also defeated Babson College on the road 68-58 last Tuesday.

Brandeis and Bates had been neck-and-neck for the majority of the first half last Saturday. Both teams were searching for a chance to take the lead, and with 30 seconds left in the half, with the score 26-23, the ball landed back in Breslin's hands. Taking a moment to glance at the clock as she pushed the ball upcourt, she attempted a layup against two Bates defenders but missed. Forward Brighid Courtney '12 capitalized on the rebound to put the Judges up by five as the teams headed into the locker rooms for halftime.

The slow start, seemingly characteristic of this year's women's basketball team, remained a struggle for Brandeis.

Assistant Coach Scott Foulis discussed some of the factors behind the mistakes.

"It's a big group of freshmen [head Coach Carol Simon and I] are still trying to integrate. Upperclassmen are being put in roles they haven't played before and injuries remain a big factor," Foulis said. "Right now, it's about consistency [and] getting into a flow."

Forward Courtney Ness '13 reiterated Foulis' sentiments.

"We owe it to each other to keep pushing [our level of play]," she said. "Brandeis has a huge reputation, and we've settled for just having the name and have forgotten about building ourselves. [Against Bates] we really worked to build the [current] team."

The Judges' improvements in the early minutes were proven by Saturday's success.

Once again, guard Jessica Chapin '10 led the team with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Not to be outshone, Courtney notched 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her first career double-double, demonstrating formidable strength beneath the basket.

Brandeis' post players, Courtney, Ness and captain/center Kasey Gieschen '10 provided important inside play against Bates' key players, including Bates' "go-to player" according to Breslin, senior forward Lauren Yanofsky.

"Most of their plays run through [Yanofsky]; she was the key to their game," Breslin said.

Courtney also noted that the Judges handled Bates very well throughout the game, saying that Bates "had a good defense and strong players but [the Judges] did a great job [against Bates]." Essential to the power behind the Judges defense was movement off the ball and "awesome help-side," she continued.

In the win over Wentworth, the Judges' lackadaisical ball movement and lazy defensive play nearly cost Brandeis an opportunity at the Tip-Off Tournament Championship game and their first place title.

However despite a poor shooting performance in compairson with the rest of her week, Chapin led the team to victory shooting 5-for-17 from the field and 2-for-7 from behind the three-point line to net 14 points and six rebounds, while teammates Gieschen and guard Dianna Cincotta '11 both contributed 8 points and three rebounds. The Judges shot a mere 29 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times.

Breslin commented Friday on the team's lack of intensity.

"We talked a lot about warmups and getting into the game prior to [tip-off]," Breslin said. "Sometimes, though, it's an individual thing. You need to get yourself inspired, and it's easier to motivate others if you're motivated."

In the team's second game of the season last Tuesday at Babson, Chapin again led the Judges with 33 points, 1 point shy of a school record held by Pam Vaughan '89. She also added 10 rebounds, six steals, two assists and one blocked shot in the win.

Geischen added a dozen points and three rebounds, while forward Shannon Hassan '12 posted 4 points and six rebounds to guide the Judges to victory.

Brandeis will try to extend its winning streak tonight at Wellesley College at 7 p.m. before hosting Tufts University Sunday at 1 p.m.