Since our last publication, the women’s and men’s basketball teams have each played a few games. The women have played three games since Nov. 17, two being away and one at home. The men have played four games, with three being away and one being at home. Neither team has met with major success yet, though it is still early in the season with ample time for improvement as they approach the championship season.
Starting off with the women’s recap, the Judges started off with facing our neighbors, the Tufts University Jumbos. The game started off strong for the Judges as they were only trailing by one point after the first period. In the second, the Judges led by one point, but the Jumbos stepped up to take the lead and never trailed again for the remainder of the game. The Jumbos gapped the Judges in point scoring in the third period, out-shooting Brandeis 28-8. The Judges tried to make their way back into contention in the fourth period, though they were unable to do so. The game concluded with the Jumbos winning 88-61. Regardless of the score, Caitlin Gresko ’25 had another successful game as she was the game-high scorer with her 20 points. This was just two points shy of her career high.
In their next game, the women’s basketball team faced the Babson College Beavers. This was the Judges’ second nationally-ranked opponent of the season. Brandeis did not have a particularly strong start in the first period, having only scored eight points to Babson’s 21. This trend remained the same as the Beavers went on to out-shoot the Judges in the remaining periods. Babson won with a final score of 79-44.
For the final game recap for the women, they hosted Roger Williams University (RWU) on Nov. 27 at home. This was the closest scoring game as of recently for the Judges as they lost by less than 10 points. The final score was 64-58. The Judges started off the game especially strong as they led by two points going into halftime. However, with a cold third period having shot for eight points, they gave up their lead to RWU. Having scored one point less than RWU in the final period, 20-21, the Judges were not able to make up the ground they had lost in the third. Statistically, some Judges had career games; Selenya Gonzalez ’24 scored a career high of 16 points and two other Judges, Molly James ’26 and Katherine Vaughan ’26, just missed double-doubles.
Looking ahead on the women’s side, they will face Rivier University in Nashua, NH on Nov. 30, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA on Dec. 2.
On the men’s side, their first game of this recap was played at Rivier University. The first half was back-and-forth score-wise, though the Judges were out scored 37-31 as they headed into halftime. The second half commenced with Rivier starting off strong and not letting up to the Judges as they out-shot them by 11 points. The final score was Rivier, 73-56. Toby Harris ’25 led the Judges in point scoring with 16.
In their following game, the men’s team faced the Babson Beavers at Babson Park on Nov. 22. This game started off similarly to their game against Rivier, though they lost contact with the close score at the tail end of the first half. The Beavers went into halftime leading 47-36 over the Judges. The Judges tried to work their way back into contention in the second half of the game, but unfortunately came away unsuccessful in doing so. Despite this, the Beavers only out-shot them by two points in the second half. The game concluded with the Judges losing 65-78 against Babson College.
In their next game, the men’s basketball team faced Rhode Island College (RIC) in an away game. This game was the closest-scoring game of this recap. The first half of this game did not involve significant offensive success for either team as they went into halftime tied 19-19. After the half, the Judges came out more aggressively as they scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half. Though there were several lead changes in the second half, the Judges were able to maintain this momentum and win against RIC, 66-51. Looking at the statistics, Sam Adusei ’24 tied his career best in point scoring with 18 points on the day. Impressively, 16 of these 18 points came in the second half. Adusei played a key role in the Judges’ success in this game.
In their most recent game, the men’s team faced the Plymouth State University (PSU) Panthers. This game resulted in the Judges’ second consecutive win. Despite the Panthers’ strong start with nine of the first 11 points scored, the Judges’ defense stepped up and held PSU scoreless for the following six and a half minutes. This allowed the Judges to acquire a score of 20-9. The Judges maintained their lead to conclude the half leading 28-19. In the second half, PSU started off strong by challenging the lead Brandeis had established as they only trailed by two points. The strong start faded as the second half went on, allowing the Judges to further extend their lead and win 83-48. This game was the first ever meeting between these two teams. Additionally, the 35-point margin attained by the Judges was the second highest under the coaching of head coach Jean Bain.
Looking ahead on the men’s side, they will face both Bates College and Colby College on Dec. 2 as a part of the UAA-Challenge they are hosting. The Emory Eagles, a fellow UAA conference team, will assist in hosting this event as they will also play the same two teams this weekend.
