Spartans pull away from Judges, 60-47

Spartans pull away from Judges, 60-47

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Brandeis women's basketball team got a second-straight 20-point performance from senior Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) and the first career double-double from classmate Shannon Hassan (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), but host Case Western Reserve University closed the game on a 21-5 run to take a 60-47 University Athletic Association (UAA) victory in the Veale Center tonight. The loss drops the Judges to 8-11 on the season, 1-7 in the UAA, while the Spartans improve to 11-8, 4-4 UAA.

Kendrew, who had 22 points in a UAA win over Carnegie Mellon last weekend, finished with 21 tonight. She hit on 9-of-18 from the field, 1-of-5 from downtown and 2-of-2  from the line. It was the sixth 20-point performance of her career. Unfortunately for the Judges, no other Brandeis player had more than two field goals. Hassan reached her double-double stats with 10 points on 2-of-6 from the field, including her second 3-pointer of the season, and 5-of-6 from the line, while grabbing a game- and career-high 10 rebounds, three coming on the offensive glass.

Case put three players in double figures, paced by Erin Hollinger's 17 points. Hollinger hit 7-of-10 with a 3-pointer and 2-of-3 from the line. Rachel Beaty provided a spark for the Spartans off the bench with 13 points, including a pair of trifectas, while Chelsea Peck added 10 points and five rebounds. Erica Iafelice led the hosts with nine rebounds, helping offset a tough 0-for-12 shooting night, while guard Berit Eppard had six assists, just one fewer than the entire Brandeis roster. Case had 15 helpers on 20 buckets, while the Judges managed just seven on 18 hoops.

The first half of the game featured two ties and three lead changes. The Judges were ahead, 13-9, on Hassan's 3-pointer at the 14:03 mark, but Hollinger responded from deep for the Spartans. That bucket sparked a 19-2 run for the hosts over the next eight minutes, with Beatty contributing six of the points from beyond the arc. Brandeis cut into the deficit late, as Kendrew scored nine points over the final 4:32 to get Brandeis within seven at 33-26 at the break to finish with 17 in the first 20 minutes.

Brandeis was still down seven, 39-32 after a pair of Eppard foul shots with 12:41 on the clock when they went on a tear as they got to the line. The Judges scored 10 unanswered points in less than three minutes, the first six coming from the charity stripe. Hassan, who started the streak and grabbed three rebounds in the string, gave the visitors their first lead since the first half on an assist from sophomore Janelle Rodriguez (Peabody, Mass./Peabody Memorial) at 41-40 at the 10:12 mark. After rookie guard Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) put back a miss, the Judges owned a three-point lead with 9:35 to go.

The Spartans responded on defense the rest of the way, however, holding the Judge to just five points on 2-of-16 from the field and closing the game on a 21-5 string. Eppard knotted the game from 3-point range to start the run, and Beatty had six points in the run to help the hosts pull away.