Continuing on in their University Athletic Association (UAA) conference season, the Brandeis women’s basketball team collected another win and three losses within the past two weeks. Following their game against New York University (NYU), the Judges traveled to St. Louis to take on Washington University, and then to Chicago to face the University of Chicago (UC). Later that week, the Judges hosted the University of Rochester and then Emory University days later. The women’s basketball team possesses a current overall record of 6-10, and a conference record of 1-4 for the 2022-23 season.
In their matchup with the Washington University Bears on Jan. 13, the Judges started the game off strong with a 19-18 lead to conclude the first quarter. This lead was generated by Caitlin Gresko ’25 and Francesca Marchese ’23 earning a combined 3-for-6 average for 3-pointers. In the second quarter though, the Bears were able to capitalize on their point-scoring opportunities and outscore the Judges 17-10. The first half concluded with a score of 35-29, the Judges trailing by six. After halftime, the Bears dominated the rest of the game, winning the third quarter 30-15, as well as the fourth 24-15. With their decisive play, including a 13-5 run and a 15-2 run, the Bears won the game 89-59. Though the Judges fell to the Bears, Gresko still had an impressive game, scoring 20 points and earning nine rebounds, just missing a second double-double for her season. No other Judge scored over six points in the game. Leading in assists was Selenya Gonzalez ’24.
Two days later, the Judges were in Chicago to face the University of Chicago Maroons. The first quarter was tight, with the Maroons leading 16-14. To follow, UC produced an 8-2 run against the Judges, which was put to an end with a jumper from Gonzalez. The Maroons then hit their next four shots, extending their lead to 14 points over the Judges. The Brandeis women’s basketball team was able to minimize the score differential back down to five with Emma Reavis ’23 scoring off of two free throws. However, UC made a 3-pointer to end the half, leading 37-29. Starting the second half, the Maroons scored nine points within four minutes and then continued on to extend their lead to 80-56 to conclude the game. For the second game in a row, Gresko was the only Judge to score within the double digits. Gresko scored 12 points and earned a team-high 10 rebounds, earning her second double-double of both her season and career. Following close behind in point-scoring, Gonzalez and Shannon Smally (GRAD) each scored eight points. There was a three-way tie for assists, with Lulu Ohm ’25, Gresko and Reavis each collecting two.
Starting off their streak of four home games, the Judges hosted the University of Rochester Yellowjackets in an exciting matchup. The Yellowjackets started the game off strong with a 12-5 lead in the first quarter; however, within the last few seconds of the quarter, Smally minimized the deficit to two with a layup for the Judges. The quarter concluded with Rochester leading 19-17. The second quarter was dominated by the Judges, with Brandeis outscoring the Yellowjackets 26-9. The second quarter consisted of the Judges going 11-for-17 on shots from the field, four players scoring at least four points and outrebounding Rochester 16-8. After halftime, Rochester battled back to outscore the Judges 18-12 in the third quarter, closing within nine points of the Judges’ lead. Continuing their point-scoring streak, the Yellowjackets started the fourth quarter with a 16-3 run against the Judges. Rochester’s leading point-scorer for the game hit back-to-back 3-pointers, capturing a 62-58 lead for the Yellowjackets with 6:20 remaining in regulation time. However, Reavis fought back for the Judges as she scored 10 points and earned an assist within a three-minute span. The Judges led 70-62 with 3:10 remaining in the game. Though Rochester made two shots to follow, cutting their point deficit in half, Mollie Obar ’25 made a layup, stopping the Yellowjackets’ momentum and preserving the Judges’ six-point lead for a 77-71 win. Just missing her second double-double for the season, Reavis led the Judges in both point scoring and assists, earning 18 points and making nine assists. An impressive 12 of Reavis’ 18 points were earned within the last six minutes of the game. Following Reavis in point-scoring were Smally with 14 and Obar coming off the bench to earn 11 points. Tied for six rebounds were Smally and Marchese, which was a career-high for her. Adding onto her achievements for the game, the two 3-pointers Marchese earned moved her into fifth place for most career 3-pointers made. She has made 115 career 3-pointers in just 64 games. As for team stats, this was the Judges’ fourth year in a row beating Rochester in their first meeting of the season.
In their latest game, the women’s basketball team hosted the Emory University Eagles on Sunday, Jan. 22. Though the Judges scored first, that was the only time during the game when they possessed the lead over the Eagles. Emory was able to extend their 10-point lead from the first quarter to 17 points by the conclusion of the first half of the game. Still trailing in the second half, they tied the Eagles for points scored in the third quarter, 15-15. To conclude their 17-point victory, the Eagles outperformed the Judges 19-17 in the fourth quarter. The final score of the game was 77-58, Emory. Though the Judges lost, Gresko still had a strong game, scoring a team-high 17 points. Marchese also added 11 points to the board. Tathiana Pierre ’23 led the Judges in assists with four.
Looking ahead, the Judges will host the Case Western Reserve University Spartans on Friday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. These upcoming games should be tight as the current UAA standings have Case Western Reserve ranked one game ahead the Judges, while Carnegie Mellon is ranked one game behind the Judges.
Editor’s Note: Francesca Marchese is a staff member of The Brandeis Hoot and did not contribute to the writing or editing of this article.
