Brandeis Women's basketball loses a close contest at home to Case 61-54 in UAA action

Morgan Kendrew '12 (Photo by Sportspix)
Morgan Kendrew '12 (Photo by Sportspix)

WALTHAM, Mass.- In a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest, the Brandeis Women's basketball team lost at Red Auerbach Arena to the Case Western Reserve University Spartans 61-54. Senior guard Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./ Barnstable) led three Judges in double figures with 13 points. Unfortunately, her efforts were not enough to stop the Spartans' duo of junior guard Evy Iacono (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Mt. Notre Dame) and senior forward Erin Hollinger (Chardon, Ohio/ Chardon) who had 18 and 19 points respectively. With the loss Brandeis falls to 7-10 (0-6 UAA), while Case improves to 9-8 (2-4 UAA).

A close first half featured one tie and three lead changes. Brandeis opened the game on a 9-3 run. Case responded by going on a 9-2 run of their own featuring eight points from the Iacono and Hollinger duo to give the Spartans their first lead of the game at 12-11 at the 9:55 mark. The rest of the scoring was up and down from there with the Judges taking a 26-20 lead on a layup by rookie point guard Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass./ Gloucester) with 2:11 left in the half. Still, Case closed the half on an impressive 9-0 run punctuated by rookie guard Rachel Beaty's (Carrolton, Texas/ Hebron) trifecta to give the Spartans a 29-26 advantage.

The second half was just as competitive as the first featuring three lead changes and two ties. The Judges fought hard to start the second half taking the lead back at 32-31 on a jumper by grad student Diana Cincotta (W.Boylstown, Mass./ W. Boylstown). Brandeis extended that lead to four on a three-pointer by Kendrew but Case responded quickly. Two jumpers by rookie guard Brooke Orcutt (Morrison, Colo./ Dakota Ridge) tied the game at 35 just 3:30 minutes into the half. Senior forward Chelsea Peck (Pittsburgh, Pa./ Oakland Catholic) gave the Spartans the lead for good at 39-37 six minutes into the half. From that point on Case never trailed again, leading by as many as nine at 55-46.

The Judges were led by Kendrew with 13 points while Cincotta and junior forward Courtney Ness (Norwich, Vt./ Hanover (N.H.)) joined her in double figures with 10 points apiece, all of Ness' points coming off the bench. Junior forward Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y./ Hoosic Valley) led the team with 11 rebounds, three on the offensive glass, while Cain had five rebounds, a team leading five assists, and a blocked shot.  Kendrew also led Brandeis with two steals

The Spartans were led by Hollinger with 19 points, closely followed by Iacono with 18 points. Iacono led the team with a 4-8 performance from beyond the arc. Hollinger also led the team with nine rebounds just missing a double-double. Orcutt pulled in seven boards to finish second on the squad. Junior guard Erica Iafelice (No. Canton, Ohio/ Canton Hoover) led the Spartans with five assists while Orcutt dished out four to go with a steal and nine points. Finally, Hollinger also led Case with two blocks on the night. The Spartans outshot Brandeis 39% to 37.5% from the field and also had a 25% to 20% edge in three-point shooting.

The Brandeis Women's basketball team will attempt to earn their first win in the UAA as they stay at home to play Carnegie Mellon on Sunday, January 29th. Meanwhile the Spartans will continue their UAA road trip with a game at NYU on the same day.