WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's
basketball team never trailed today in defeating the visiting
Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, 69-60, in a University Athletic
Association (UAA) contest in Red Auerbach Arena. With the win, head
coach Carol Simon recorded the 299th victory of her career.
Brandeis (17-5, 8-3 UAA) put three players in double figures in
scoring. Junior forward Lauren Orlando (Peabody, Mass.) led the way
with 16 points in just 21 minutes of action, hitting six-of-seven
from the field and four-of-five from the line. Orlando also had
five rebounds. Senior guard Jaime Capra (Old Bridge, N.J.) had 15
points in 19 minutes, while sophomore backcourt mate Jessica Chapin
(Mendon, N.Y.) had 11 points thanks to three 3-pointers. Senior
guard Kiersten Holgash (Easton, Pa.) had six assists to lead all
players, while sophomore reserve forward Kasey Gieschen (Boonton
Township, N.J.) had a team-high six rebounds, including six on the
offensive glass. Brandeis owned the boards, 34-23, including 13-4
on the offensive end that they converted into a 22-6 advantage in
second-chance points. The Judges also scored 21 points off of 18
CMU turnovers, while the Tartans had just 11 points from 16
Brandeis miscues.
CMU (7-15, 0-11) was paced by junior forward Rachelle Roll
(Ostrander, Ohio), who recorded her second double-double of the
season with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Classmate Stacey
Aleski (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led all players with 19 points on the day.
Aleski hit seven-of-16 from the field, including four-of-10 from
beyond the arc, and a free throw. She also tied for team-high
honors with four assists. Senior guard Leah Feola (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
added nine points, four assists and five steals. The Tartans
outshot Brandeis for the game, 49% (25-51) to 46% (24-52), holding
the Judges to just 36% (8-22) in the second half.
Brandeis opened the game on an 11-2 run over the first five
minutes, as CMU missed four of its first five shots and committed
three turnovers in the early going. Brandeis took its first
double-digit lead, 18-8, on a Chapin long-distance bomb just under
eight minutes in. The lead went between seven and 12 points for the
rest of the half before Chapin again hit from beyond the arc with
nine seconds left to give the Judges a 43-28 lead at the
intermission. Orlando led all players with 13 first-half points, as
she hit five-of-five from the floor and three-of-three from the
line, while Roll had 11 points before the break.
The Judges opened the second half by scoring the first nine points,
with a Capra lay-in giving them a 52-28 lead with 3:10 elapsed.
Brandeis maintained the 20-point lead for the next nine minutes
before CMU scored nine straight points – seven by Aleski - in
less than a minute between 7:58 and 7:03 to cut the lead to 61-46.
After the teams traded buckets, the Judges were able to stay the
momentum by using nearly one full minute on their next possession,
grabbing an offensive rebound and getting another Chapin 3-pointer
as the shot clock expired to go ahead by 14, 66-52, with 2:20 left
in the game. CMU closed on a 10-3 run to make the final score
69-60.
The Judges hit the road in search of Simon's 300th career win
locked in a four-way tie for the UAA lead with the University of
Rochester, Washington University and the University of Chicago.
Brandeis is in St. Louis to take on WashU next Friday night and at
Chicago next Sunday afternoon.