The Brandeis women's basketball team lost both their home games this weekend in the Red Auerbach Arena. After dropping both games, the team is 12–6 overall and 2-5 in the University Athletic Association. 


Spartans 80, Judges 68

On Jan. 31, the Judges had their first loss where they fell 80–68 to the Case Western Reserve University Spartans. This game brought their record to 12–5 overall and 2–4 in the UAA. The game featured two evenly-matched teams with five ties and nine lead changes. Neither team was able to establish dominance in the first quarter, and after 10 minutes of play, the score was tied at 15–15. The lead went back and forth until early in the second quarter when the Spartans went on an 8–0 run, taking a 27–20 lead over the Judges. Their lead continued into the half when the score was 33–27. Hannah Nicholson ’20 led the Judges in the first half with eight points, six of them scored in just the first period.

The Spartans came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first five points of the half and taking a double-digit lead. Brandeis stormed back with 11 unanswered points in a row, initiated by Courtney Thrun ’21 with four points, two steals and an assist on a three-pointer. This pushed  the Judges to their first lead since the first period, 42–41. Though the teams stayed close for the rest of the third quarter, the Spartans went into the fourth quarter on top again and outplayed the Judges 28-20. 

Thrun was Brandeis's leading scorer, scoring 16 points in 15 minutes off the bench. She also had a career-high 16 points on eight-of-ten shooting, two rebounds, two steals and an assist. Nicholson finished with 11 points and 14 rebounds for her University Athletic Association-leading eighth double-double of the campaign. Camila Casanueva ’21 had 13 points and a career-high 10 assists.


Tartans 73, Judges 63

The Judges lost their second game of the weekend 73–63 to the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans. From the start of the game, the Judges struggled shooting the ball, hitting just one of their first 10 shots as the Tartans built a 12–6 lead. The back-to-back three-pointers from Jillian Petrie ’21 and Francesca Marchese ’23 tied the game at 12–12 with 1:53 to go in the first half. However, a pair of three-pointers from the Tartans and a last-second shot gave the Tartans an 18-12 lead at the end of the first period. 

The Tartans led throughout the second period, getting ahead by as many as nine points on several occasions. Casanueva answered with a three-pointer and two free throws to get the Judges back to within one point, 33–32, but the Tartans again beat the buzzer at the end of the period to take a 35–32 lead. The Tartans maintained a steady lead in the second half with a 9–2 run, and the Judges never regained the lead. The Judges' closest margin in the fourth quarter was 56–52, but the Tartans took over and finished with a 10-point lead. 

Brandeis's leading scorer was Casanueva, who finished with 12 points on 3-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-5 from deep and 4-of-5 from the line. Nicholson added nine points and six boards, while Emma Reavis ’23 had seven points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot; her assist and rebound totals were both career-highs. The Judges shot just 34.5 percent from the field (19–55), their third-lowest shooting percentage of the season.

Next week, the Judges will travel to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for a Friday evening game at 6 p.m. Then on Sunday, the Judges will travel to Pittsburgh to play Carnegie Mellon at 2 p.m.