The women's basketball team limped to two consecutive losses this week, falling Saturday to No. 9 Tufts University, 67-43, and last Tuesday to Roger Williams University, 65-53. With the defeats, the squad drops to 1-3 on the year.

The Judges started off on the right note on Saturday.

Guard Kasey Dean '14 and forward Nicolina Vitale '14 combined to give Brandeis a 9-2 advantage. During their run over the first three and a half minutes, Dean and Vitale contributed all nine points, including a three-point jumper from Dean that pushed the Judges' lead to five points.

The Jumbos responded with a scoring run of their own, though, scoring the next 13 straight points to open a 15-9 lead over the Judges with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half.

The Judges would not be put away easily, clawing back to within four points of the Jumbos twice over the next two minutes. Guard Janelle Rodriguez '14 drove to the basket for a key layup to pull Brandeis back into the game.

Tufts shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first half and made seven three-pointers on 14 shots, compared to 30.8 percent shooting from the field and just one three-pointer for the Judges. Vitale and Dean both topped the Judges with seven first-half points, but could not keep up with the Jumbos offense, as Tufts entered the locker room with a 35-20 halftime lead over Brandeis.

The Jumbos continued their run in the second half, opening with a 15-5 run, stretching their lead to 50-25 over the Judges. The half started quickly for the Jumbos, as Tufts junior forward Hayley Kanner hit a three-pointer just 15 seconds into the second half. Tufts used balanced scoring-five members of the team scored during the 15 point run-to run away from the hosts and put the game out of reach.

Dean led the Judges yet again in the second half, scoring 10 points in the half, including eight of the final nine points registered by Brandeis.

Vitale contributed four points of her own in the second half for 11 on the day, adding one of her four rebounds for the contest during the second half.

Brandeis managed to shoot just 29.2 percent from the floor in the second half, and could only gather 16 rebounds, compared to 31.4 percent shooting and 28 rebounds for Tufts.

However, the individual performances were not enough for a comeback as Tufts went on to win their fourth game of the season.

Meanwhile, the Judges put up quite a fight against Roger Williams on Tuesday. Each team went on several scoring runs, trading punches throughout the game.

Though the Judges lost Tuesday's game by a 12-point margin, the score did not reflect how close the game truly was.

In the first half, Brandeis out-rebounded Roger Williams, grabbing 20 total boards-including seven offensive rebounds-compared to 16 total boards for the Hawks. After trailing 17-10, the Judges went on a 6-1 run to bring themselves to within two points. Yet, the Hawks responded, going on a 15-7 run of their own to take the 33-23 halftime lead. Vitale led the way for Brandeis in the first half, scoring six points.

However, the Judges came out firing to start the second half, going on a 13-1 run to take a two-point lead with just under 14 minutes remaining. Vitale explained that the run was simply a result of the team increasing its aggressiveness and intensity.

"[In the] second half of [the] Roger Williams [game], we knew we had to come out more aggressive on both ends so we switched to a different press, which we are very comfortable in," she said.

"All of our mistakes the first half were either because we didn't communicate or we went away from the game plan. We just had to regroup and play our game."

Though Brandeis held a 45-43 advantage with seven minutes, 54 seconds remaining, Roger Williams scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. Roger Williams senior guard Kaitlyn Bovee scored 15 of her 32 points in the second half to lead the Hawks to victory.

Though the Judges forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, it was not enough for the victory. Dean and Vitale scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, while center Angela Miller '14 added eight points to go along with seven rebounds.

Vitale praised the team for its ability to adjust in the second half of games, but noted that for the squad to succeed moving forward, it needs to work on improving its defense.

"As a team, I think we were able to make half time adjustments very well. In both Colby [College] and Roger Williams we were able to come out in the second half and close 10 point leads in just a few minutes," she said.

"When we stick to our game plan and focus on the little things we are a good team. To be a great team we have to play a full 40 minutes and not play catch up the second half."

The Judges will continue their non-conference schedule tonight at 7 p.m. at Emmanuel College.

- Avi Gold contributed reporting