WALTHAM, Mass. – The University of Chicago women's basketball team never trailed today as the Maroons, ranked No. 2 in the nation by D3hoops.com and the WBCA, defeated host Brandeis University, 77-50, in a University Athletic Association (UAA) contest in Red Auerbach Arena. With the win, the Maroons improve 23-0, 13-0 in the UAA, while the Judges fall to 8-16, 1-12 UAA.
Chicago scored the game's first 14 points and never looked back en route to the victory. The visitors shot 58 percent from the field for the game (29-50), including 65 percent from 3-point range (11-17), while owning a 35-27 edge on the glass.
The Maroons put three players in double figures in scoring, paced by rookie reserve Morgan Donovan (Cincinnati, Ohio./Ursuline Acad.), who had a game-high 15 points off the bench. Donovan hit 6-of-7 from the field, including all three of her 3-pointers, while also grabbing three rebounds and dishing three assists. Senior forward Taylor Simpson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) and junior guard Jenna Lillemoe (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) both had 11 points on 4-of-5 from the field. Simpson added a 3-pointer and two free throws, while Lillemoe was 3-of-4 from downtown. Simpson also had game-highs with eight rebounds and five assists.
Brandeis had one player reach double figures, as senior forward Shannon Hassan (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting with a pair of free throws. Grad student Diana Cincotta (W. Boylston, Mass./W. Boylston) just missed making a second player in double figures with nine points, but her three 3-pointers moved her into sole possession of fifth place on Brandeis's career list with 106. Cincotta is the sixth player in school history to reach 100 for her career.
Junior center Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) and rookie guard Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) each had four rebounds to tie for the team lead, while senior Kelly Ethier (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug Regional) had four assists. Cain added a game-high three steals, as Brandeis won the turnover battle against the Maroons, 22-19.
Brandeis wraps up the 2011-12 season next Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against rival NYU, while Chicago will try to close out a second-straight undefeated regular season at home against Washington University at the same time.