Brandeis Women’s Basketball approached last weekend’s road trip, fate firmly in its hands. That grip has been forcibly pried open and lopped off after the Judges were swept away on the road last weekend; they were beaten 62-55 by University of Chicago Maroons and shellacked by Washington University 74-56. The road losses put Brandeis’ postseason hopes in the front seat of a 1957 Cadillac, teetering over a cliff.
“We had some missed opportunities on possessions defensively, box outs and free throws we didn’t get,” Brandeis Coach Carol Simon stated.
A 13-4 run at the end of the first half gave Brandeis the 28-20 half time lead. As has happened on two other occasions though, the Judges could not preserve that advantage. Chicago went on a 14-5 run to claim a one point lead. Brandeis fought back take a 42-38 with 9:28 remaining, but it would be a last gasp as the Judges shot 2 of 14 for the remainder of the game.
Jaime Capra ’08 led the scoring with 12 points on 3-10 shooting. Lauren Orlando ’09 was next, with 10 points on the day. Kiersten Holgash ’08 led the team with nine rebounds.
Nofi Mojidi led all scorers with 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Chicago. Alex Leach had 13 points and was followed by Molly Hackney and Dana Kaplan with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Maroons shot 50 percent in the second half, a sharp contrast to Brandeis’s 24 percent. The Judges shot 28.6 percent for the game.
The loss follows a swift defeat in St. Louis at the hands of Washington University. Wash U shot 65 percent in the first half and never looked back as they handed Brandeis their largest defeat of the season.
“They were the better team,” Simon explained. “You have to give them credit, they shot the ball very well, they ran their offense very well…you’ve just got to give them credit.”
Capra and Orlando led the offense with 14 and 13 points respectively. Orlando also had six rebounds.
Janice Evans led the Bears attack with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Shanna-Lei Dacanay and Alex Hoover each had 10 points of their own. Washington outshot Brandeis 49 percent to 34 percent for the game.
With the road losses, the Judges postseason fate lies in the hands of the selection committee, assuming that they can surpass New York University. The Violets have struggled this year, languishing next to last with three wins, but one of them came at the hands of the Judges, thanks in large part to 33 points from Jessica McEntee.
“The biggest thing is being able to defend NYU’s penetration and drive,” Simon said. “Keeping them off the boards and being able to handle their intense defensive pressure.” Brandeis comes into Saturday looking for revenge and hopefully avoiding having to settle for an ECAC bid. The Judges play NYU at 1 p.m.
