With 3 minutes, 57 seconds remaining in regulation, women's basketball guard Jessica Chapin '10 hit a 3-pointer assisted by fellow guard Lauren Rashford '10 to ice Sunday afternoon's victory against Carnegie Mellon University. Chapin's shot put the Tartans out of reach and extended their lead to 12, the largest of the game, with just minutes left to play.The Judges' victory was their second of the weekend and fourth in the University Athletic Association.

Coach Carol Simon, whose team is 11-6 (4-3 in UAA play), noted the importance of a win for moving Brandeis into fourth in the UAA.

"We needed to put ourselves in a position to get into third," she said. "We needed to play well, especially after the Emory game."

Brandeis showed a much greater team effort in Sunday afternoon's game, as noted by Chapin.

"[We] took what was given to [them] and didn't force plays," Chapin said. It was much more of a team concept than in the past weeks, and that really showed."

Guard Carmela Breslin '10 added to her teammate's observation.

"Today I think we did a really good job of picking up the energy and the tempo in the second half," said Breslin. "We were flat and not in the game. . But with 9 or 10 minutes left in the game we really picked it up."

Breslin was referring to the Judges' characteristic slow starts. Against Carnegie Mellon, the Judges outscored the Tartans' 33-30 before recovering to outpace their opponents 37-28 in the second half.

Simon felt the team needed to focus more on fundamentals.

"We weren't boxing out at all and were giving them opportunities," she said. "We need to be a lot more disciplined defensively."

Assistant coach, Scott Foulis agreed with Simon. noting some breakdowns in discipline.

"Today it was mostly post players . but some guards as well," he commented. "Along with physical fatigue in the first half we saw some mental fatigue. It comes in plagues."

Chapin led the Judges with 27 points, 59 for the weekend. Her 1,160 career points moved her into sixth on Brandeis' all-time scoring list.

Forward Amber Strodthoff '11 added an additional 14 points and seven rebounds, while guard Morgan Kendrew '12 notched eight more. Center Kasey Gieschen '10 contributed six rebounds for the Judges.

Gieschen noted the importance of the team's overall strategy.

"We talked about our assets versus their weaknesses," noted Gieschen. "Our team is big and strong, while [Carnegie] is small and quick."

The Judges' free throw percentage was also vital to their victory. The Judges shot 16 for 17 from the line compared with the Tartans' 50-percent accuracy , which notched a meager 6 points.

The game remained fairly close until a 9-point run by the Judges increased the margin to 12 and sealed a win.

Sunday's victory capitalized on an already successful weekend as Brandeis defeated Case Western Reserve University 71-52 Friday night.

Chapin led Simon's team once again, as she totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Additionally, she stole the ball four times and had three assists.

With her stats Friday night, Chapin became the first player in school history to rank in the top 10 in points (1160), steals (230), assists (230) and rebounds (491).

Strodthoff followed Chapin with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds while guard Diana Cincotta '11 had 12 points. The Judges, once again, dominated the free-throw line, shooting 19-24.

Brandeis got off to a slow start as it only hit seven shots from the floor in the first half, five of which came from Chapin. However, the Judges shot 100 percent from the foul line, adding an additional 17 points to their halftime total, giving them a 34-29 lead.

Case came back at the beginning of the second half to score the first 6 points, which the Judges overcame by scoring 6 points in a row.

Simon said she told her team to slow down Case's offense.

"We kept them off the boards and we really wanted to push the ball," she said. "I thought we did a good job."

Still, it was not until Kendrew hit a 3-pointer to start the Judges on a 12 point streak over 4:13 that Brandeis was able to secure the win.

"We really played within our plays and got a little creative," Cincotta said. "That allowed us to open up the floor and get more opportunities."

The Judges will play both teams on the road next weekend playing Case on Feb. 5 and Carnegie Mellon on Feb. 7.