DePalo’s career day included 10 points in the first half and 11 points in the second half, shooting eight-of-14 from the field and five-of-seven from beyond the arc. She eclipsed her previous career best by eight points, which she set earlier this year on Jan. 14 at Carnegie Melon.
Junior Morgan Kendrew contributed 13 points connecting on five-of-16 from the field and three-of-four from the free throw line. Three Brandeis players tied for a team-high five rebounds including Kendrew, sophomore Samantha Anderson, junior Brighid Courtney. Rookie Julia Scanlon led all Brandeis players with four assists.
Eclipsing DePalo’s performance for Brandeis was Rochester senior Melissa Alwardt, who scored all of her 22 points in the second half. Alwardt was 12-of-12 from the free throw line, leading a 25-5 scoring edge for the Yellowjackets from the free throw line. After missing all four of her three-pointers in the first half, she hit four-of-nine from the field and two-of-five from beyond the arc in the second half. She also grabbed eight rebounds.
Rochester junior Jodie Luther recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. She was six-of-14 from the field and three-of-six from the line.
Rochester scored the first six points of the game, all of them by Luther. Rochester led 18-9 following a Luther foul shot with 9:24 minutes in the first half. However, the Judges rallied and cut the lead to 18-15 less than 90 seconds later. Luther hit a jump shot to halt the Judges’ run, but DePalo answered with her second three-pointer of the half to pull the judges within two. Following a Kendrew jumper with 18 seconds left in the first half, the Judges tied the score at 24-24. Scanlon blocked a shot from Rochester sophomore Kristyn Wright just before the end of the half to preserve the tie heading into the break.
Coming out of the break, DePalo connected on a three-pointer to give the Judges their first lead of the game at 27-24. Rochester and Brandeis traded layups on the next two possessions, followed by Alwardt hitting a three-pointer to tie the game again at 29-29. Rochester proceeded to score again and with DePalo missing her only two free throws of the game soon after.
The Judges and Yellowjackets continued to trade baskets and the score was knotted up at 35-35 again with 13:24 minutes left in the second half. However, the Yellowjackets would go on a decisive 12-2 run to pull away. DePalo hit a three-pointer to end the Yellowjacket run and cut the lead to 47-40, at the 7:16 minute mark. However, the Judges could never close the gap. Rochester hit 10 foul shots in a row to close out the game.
The two teams will meet again in Rochester on Feb. 6 in a 2 p.m. tip after the Judges head to Emory on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. and the Yellowjackets host NYU at the same time in UAA action.
Earlier in the week, the Judges broke out of a three-game losing slump with a 76-67 win over Emory. With the win, the Judges improved to 10-7 (2-4 UAA) and Emory fell to 8-9 (1-5 UAA).
Junior guard Morgan Kendrew contributed 26 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the field and seven-of-eight from the line. Senior forward Amber Strodthoff posted her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Kelly Ethier scored 12 points, shooting four-of-six from the floor and 2-2 of beyond the arc. Rookie guard Kasey Dean led the team with eight assists, the team’s best performance of the year. She also had seven points and seven rebounds on the day.
Brandeis maintained the lead for the majority of the game shooting 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) in the first half and improving to 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) in the second half.
For the Eagles, rookie guard Savannah Morgan was the only player to score in double digits with 13 points connecting on five-of-15 from the floor. Sophomore forward Misha Jackson led Emory with a team high nine rebounds. She also contributed nine points and three assists.
The Judges held Emory to just eight-of-31 (25.8 percent) shooting in the first half. However, Emory shot five-of-13 (38.5 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half scoring 15 of the 25 first half points from deep. Despite their cold start, the Eagles played a full court defense in the second half, enabling them to tie the game twice and improve their shooting percentage to 42.5 percent (17-40).
Emory opened the game with a 3-pointer from senior guard Courtney Von Stein, but the Judges answered back with a shot in the paint by Kendrew to give Brandeis a 7-6 lead at 16:50. At 14:44 the Eagles the Eagles tied the game at 11-11. However, over the next six minutes, Brandeis went on an 11-0 run to take a 22-11 lead. The Judges maintained this lead for the rest of the half going into the break with a 36-25 advantage.
Kendrew committed a foul to start the second half that allowed the Eagles to score the first two points of the half from the line. Kendrew responded by making a 3-pointer and a jumper to give Brandeis a 41-27 lead. The 14-point margin would be the largest of the game. However, two easy baskets by Emory cut the lead to 41-31 and sparked an Emory comeback. Over the next eight minutes, the Eagles outscored the Judges 24-9 enabling Emory to take a 51-50 lead, their first lead since early in the first half.
Brandeis responded going on an 11-4 run over the next three minutes. Emory made an attempt to rally and cut the Brandeis lead to four. However, the Judges made seven-of-eight from the line to close out the game with a 76-67 victory.
