The Brandeis University women’s basketball team went on the road to Cleveland, OH to continue their University Athletic Association (UAA) matches against Case Western Reserve University. Despite their best efforts, the Judges fell to the Spartans 70-73. This puts the Judges at a 11-7 record overall and 3-5 in the UAA.
The Judges started off strong in the first quarter leading 20-17, but allowed the Spartans to come back in the second quarter, ending the half with a scare of 34-37. The game was tied at 51 going into the fourth quarter, but the Spartans pulled away with an 11-0 point run to take the lead with 2:59 minutes remaining. Katherine Puda ’21 put up a pair of 3-pointers in the last 25 seconds of the game to bring the Judges to only a two-point deficit. Puda tried one more time to bring the Judges back into the game with a three off the mark to finalize the score at 73-70. Camila Casanueva ’21 led Brandeis in scoring, earning 16 points in 22 minutes, just shy of her career-high. Casanueva earned her career-high in rebounds, getting eight, and tied the team-high with three assists. Hannah Nicholson ’20 earned her third double-double of the season and second in a row with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Judges hit the court again when they traveled to Pittsburgh, PA to play against Carnegie Mellon. After a slow start, the Judges were able to get a win from behind beating the Tartans 60-52. The Judges outscored the Tartans in the second half 33-19. This win earned the Judges first sweep of the Tartans since the 2014-2015 season. The Judges lead the third quarter by out scoring the Tartans by 19-11. The Judges took a 46-44 lead into the final ten minutes, then the Judges outscored the Tartans 14-4 over the first six and a half minutes to pull away and secure the win. Katie Goncalo ’20 was the only player in the double digits in the scoring with 10 points, and matching her career-high in rebounds at seven. Sarah Jaromin ’19 had nine points off the bench and Casanueva finished with eight. Noel Hodges ’18 led the team with five assists, six points, and six boards. The Judges hit 12-14 from the free-throw line. Nicholson lead the team with 16 points and 15 rebounds. This was Nicholson recorded her third-strait double-double.
Brandeis returns to the court on Friday at 6 p.m. against Washington University at St. Louis as the Judges seek their first-ever sweep of the Bears.
