Before going on winter break, the Brandeis women’s basketball team played two games at home against Bridgewater State University and Eastern Nazarene College. The first game was against Bridgewater St. on Dec. 2. The Judges had very even scores throughout the team in the first quarter, as no player had over three points. Guard Tathiana Pierre ’23 had three points with five different Brandeis players having two. Both teams shot below 30 percent from the field, resulting in 28 combined points in the first quarter between the two teams. The Judges’ shooting inconsistencies continued into the second quarter as the team only made three of 12 shots. Senior guard Camilia Casanueva ’22 had four points all from the free-throw line. Guard Emma Reavis ’23 and first-year forward Mollie Obar ’25 had three points.
The third quarter saw both teams be much more efficient shooting as Bridgewater St. had 24 points and Brandeis had 23 points. Sophomore guard Selenya Gonzalez ’24 came off the bench and scored nine points. Reavis and Casanueva added four and three points in the quarter. Going into the final quarter of the game, Brandeis was down by eight points. To make the comeback, they proceeded to hit five 3-pointers within the quarter. Obar had 11 points in the quarter while making 3-pointers. Forward Caitlin Gresko ’25 also came alive in the quarter with six points. Brandeis was down one point in the final minute, but the team could not get any shot to fall and ultimately, they lost the game 73-74.
In the game against Eastern Nazarene, the Judges took the lead quickly in the first quarter and then never looked back. Casanueva and forward Kerry Tanke ’22 had six points in the quarter, while Gresko led the team in rebounds with four. In the second quarter, Casanueva and Tanke again had six points to lead the team. Reavis distributed the ball well with three assists. During the final two quarters, the Judges were outscored, however, their lead built up in the first two quarters was too much for Eastern Nazarene to overcome. The final score of the game was 66-51, giving Brandeis a big win. Tanke finished the game with 18 points and Casanueva added 13. Gresko had an all-around good game with six points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
A month later the Judges faced off against New York University (NYU). The two teams went back and forth for three quarters. Tanke started the first quarter well with seven points and two rebounds. Every player in the starting lineup scored. Casanueva had three points and two assists. The starting lineup continued to play well as Gresko and Reavis both had five points in the quarter. Tanke had another seven points and four rebounds.
Both teams were inconsistent in the third quarter on offense. The two teams combined to score just 26 points. In spite of this, Tanke still scored six points. Going into the fourth quarter, Brandeis was winning 56-53. The NYU offense proceeded to go on a strong run and outscore Brandeis 23-12 in the final quarter. This led to a Brandeis loss of 68-76. Three Brandeis players finished the game with double-digit points. Tanke had 20, Reavis had 13 and Casanueva had 12. Tanke led the team in rebounds with eight, while Casanueva led the team in assists with six.
The Brandeis women’s basketball team will play against Carnegie Mellon on Jan. 14, 2022.
Editor’s note: Francesca Marchese is a staff writer for The Brandeis Hoot and did not contribute to the writing or editing of this article.
