Having lost two games the previous weekend to ranked opponents, the women's basketball team was hoping for a better result against their 12th-ranked University Athletic Association rival Rochester YellowJackets. Unfortunately, early foul trouble doomed the Judges, and they fell to Rochester 61-50. The Judges, now 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the UAA, split the weekend of UAA action with a win against the Emory Eagles last Friday.
Last Sunday, the YellowJackets got off to a quick start with a 9-2 run. Guard Mia DePalo '11, who scored just 3 points in the game against Emory, got hot early on and tallied 5 of Brandeis' first 7 points. The YellowJackets maintained their lead 10 minutes into the half, spreading the ball around much better than the Judges, who received baskets from just three players compared to Rochester's six. The Judges fought back, going on an 8-2 run, and the team went into halftime with the game tied at 24.
DePalo accounted for 10 of the Judges' first-half points.
The second half started off quickly, with each team tallying 5 points in the first minute. DePalo added her third 3-pointer of the game to give the Judges their first lead of the game early in the half. The game remained close until 7 minutes, 5 seconds in, when the YellowJackets went on a 10-0 run over the next 5 1/2 minutes. The Judges were unable to get themselves back into the game, getting no closer than 7 points. Rochester hit their free throws down the stretch to clinch the game.
The Judges were forced to foul more often than they normally would in the end to try to get back into the game.
"At the end of the game, . we were intentionally fouling to stop the clock and get more possessions on the offensive end," coach Carol Simon said.
The YellowJackets were paced by senior guard Melissa Alwardt, who scored all 22 of her points in the second half. DePalo added 21 points for the Judges, a career high for her. Rookie guard Julia Scanlon '14 stuffed the stat sheet, coming away with with 2 points, one block, one steal, four assists and four rebounds. Guard Morgan Kendrew '11 also contributed 13 points and five rebounds.
DePalo said that she was feeling it against the YellowJackets.
"When I'm on, I shoot more, and when I'm not, I try to dish the ball off to the people who are on," DePalo said. "I think everyone worked the ball really well today and found me when I was open."
Simon also praised DePalo's strong performance.
"Mia [DePalo] had a tremendous weekend both on the offensive and defensive end," Simon said. "I thought she showed excellent composure in both games and it was nice to see she had a strong offensive showing versus Rochester."
The Judges and YellowJackets were close in most statistical categories, but Rochester held a key 16-4 advantage in bench points.
"Obviously you don't want to be outscored in bench points," Simon said. "We expect the same production from the players coming off the bench as the players who start."
On Friday night, the women's squad took on the Emory Eagles. The Judges were able to overcome a comeback by the Eagles in the second half to win the game 76-67. The win ended the Judges three-game skid against UAA opponents.
After 6 minutes of back-and-forth play, Brandeis went on an 11-0 run thanks to baskets by five different Judges to take a 22-11 lead. The Judges were able to maintain the lead and headed into halftime leading 36-25. Kendrew paced the Judges in the first half, tallying 11 of the team's points.
Early in the second half, the Judges jumped out to a 14-point lead, their largest lead of the game. Over the next 10 minutes, however, the Eagles outscored the Judges 24-9 and took a 51-50 lead with 8:04 left, their first lead since early in the first half. With the game tied at 53 apiece with 7 minutes left, the Judges went on a 12-1 run to push the lead back 11. The Eagles would briefly close the gap to 4 points with just over a minute remaining, but the Judges were able to hold them off down the stretch, making seven out of eight free throws in the last minute of the game.
Despite having 24 turnovers compared to just 11 for Emory, the Judges led the Eagles in almost all major categories, including assists, points in the paint and second chance points. The Judges also dominated in rebounding, outrebounding the Eagles 53-29.
"The key to the Emory game was to make sure we took care of the ball," Simon said. "They are a team that scored off the mistakes of the opposing team. They are a very athletic and quick team, and we knew we would have to be extremely composed versus their style of play."
The Judges also showed significant improvement in shooting percentage from the first to the second half. The Judges shot just 37.5 percent in the first half, but improved to 57.1 percent in the second half, as well as improving from 22.2 percent to 60.0 percent in 3-point shooting. The Judges defense also played strongly, holding the Eagles to just 35.2 percent from the field.
Kendrew led all scorers and set a career high with 26 points. Forward Amber Strodhoff '11 added 13 points and 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Guard Kelly Ethier '12 also added 12 points and two steals, and rookie guard Kasey Dean '14 contributed a solid 7 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
The Judges will face both the Eagles and the YellowJackets again this weekend, traveling to Emory on Friday and Rochester on Sunday.