Picking up where our coverage left off, the women’s basketball team has since played two away games and hosted two home games to start the second half of the University Athletic Association (UAA) games.
On Friday, Feb. 3, the women’s basketball team played an away game against the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Spartans. Though the Judges opened with a 3-pointer from Franchesca Marchese ’23 right off the bat, that was the only time they possessed the lead. The first period ended with the Spartans leading the Judges with a score of 20-15. Marchese and Emma Reavis ’23 capitalized on point-scoring opportunities in the second quarter, earning a combined 13 of the Judges’ 17 points in the second. However, by the end of the second quarter, the Spartans had extended their lead over the Judges to an 11-point difference. Having a perfect free-throw record in the game, the Spartans possessed a 78-52 lead by the end of the third quarter. To conclude the game, Brandeis outscored the Spartans 14-8 in the final quarter, primarily with reserves on the court. Despite this, CWRU captured an 86-67 win against the Judges. Leading in points scored, rebounds and assists was Reavis, with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the game. This was her second double-double of the season.
Following their game in Cleveland, the Judges traveled to Pittsburgh to face the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Tartans on Sunday, Feb. 5. The Judges started the game off strong, with Caitlin Gresko ’25 and Reavis scoring six points each, and concluding the first period with a 20-17 lead over the Tartans. However, the Judges struggled to maintain their lead during the second and third quarters, only making 15% of their shots within the middle 20 minutes of the game. The Tartans were able to capture the lead as they made 47% of their shots during that same timeframe. The first half concluded with the Tartans leading 38-30, and the third quarter ended with the Tartans leading 62-38. The Judges had a strong showing in the fourth quarter, but so did the CMU Tartans. With each team scoring 23 points to conclude the game, the Tartans captured an 85-61 win over the Judges. Earning a career-high and the team lead in point scoring for the Judges was Gresko with 22. Following were Reavis with 12 points and Abby Kennedy ’26 who earned a new career-high in point scoring with nine points off the bench. Leading in assists was Lulu Ohm ’25 with four, as well as three steals.
On Friday, Feb. 10, the women’s basketball team hosted the UAA league-leading Washington University (WashU) Bears. After giving up a 13-2 lead to the Bears to start the game, the Judges produced a 12-5 run, closing out the first period with a score of 18-14. In the second quarter, both teams struggled to make buckets, with the Judges going 3-13 and the Bears going 4-14. The teams tied 16-16 to conclude the first half. In the third quarter, the Judges were met with decisive plays from the Bears. WashU’s 23-13 win in the third quarter was what set them apart from the Judges. The game concluded with each team scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Judges losing with a final score of 65-49. Leading the Judges in point-scoring was Marchese with 10 points, followed by Reavis and Selenya Gonzalez ’24, who both scored nine points. Shannon Smally (GRAD) had a team-high of seven rebounds in the game. Kennedy and Tathiana Pierre ’23 had two assists each.
This past Sunday, Feb. 12, the Judges hosted the University of Chicago Maroons at the Auerbach Arena for the Judges’ final home game of the season. The game started off strong for the Judges with a successful layup from Marchese and a pair of free throws by Reavis; however, the Maroons scored the next 12 points of the game and never gave up the lead again. The first period concluded with the Judges trailing 24-15. The Judges fought back in the second quarter, making 53% of their shots from the field, but the Maroons also met with success, making 55% of their shots from the field. The teams headed into the locker room with the Maroons leading 47-34 over the Judges. Each team went on to score 17 points in the third quarter. The score was 64-51 with 10 minutes left in regulation time. The Maroons extended their lead in the fourth quarter, finishing the game 19 points ahead of the Judges with a final score of 79-60. Though the Judges fell to the Maroons, 10 different Judges scored points. Reavis led the Judges in all stat-sheet categories: 11 points scored, six rebounds and seven assists. Gresko followed with nine points scored and four assists. Seniors Marchese and Pierre had eight points each, while Smally had five rebounds.
Looking ahead, the Judges will conclude their 2022-2023 season within the next week with three away games. They will play against the University of Rochester at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 17, then Emory University at 2 p.m. on Feb. 19 and then they will play their last game of the season against New York University at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24.
Editor’s Note: Staff writer Francesca Marchese is a captain of the women’s basketball team and did not contribute to the writing or editing of this article.
