The Brandeis women (6-19 in 2011-12) will look to build momentum off their season-ending win over NYU. The Judges will have to account for the loss of their two leading scorers from a year ago in All-UAA team members Morgan Kendrew (2nd team, 12.0 ppg) and Diana Cincotta (HM, 8.2 ppg). Coach Carol Simon's squad returns three other starters. Sophomore Hannah Cain tied for second on the team in minutes played last year, starting all 25 games and averaging 26.5 mpg. She is the team's top returning scorer at 6.8 ppg, and led the squad and finished seventh in the UAA with 3.0 assists per game. Cain also finished second on the team in rebounding at 5.3 boards per game, including 2.3 offensive rebounds per game. Senior Samantha Anderson also started every contest for the Judges and finished 10th in the league in rebounding at 5.8 caroms per game. Rounding out the returning starters is forward Erika Higginbottom, who rounded into shape after missing the middle part of the season due to injury. Higginbottom started the final 11 games for the Judges, finishing with a flourish when she scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds against NYU. Higginbottom also had 11 caroms in a game against Emory. One other player who earned a start for the Judges, senior co-captain Courtney Ness, will also look to continue to make an impact in the frontcourt after leading the Judges with a 43.2 FG%. Juniors Kasey Dean, a co-captain, and Nicolina Vitale, also saw play off the bench in a majority of games and will be looked upon to step up this season. The Judges also have six freshman on the roster who will look to push the returners for playing time.
The Judges tip off on Saturday November 17th at 2:00 p.m. against Mitchell College in the Judges Classic at Red Auerbach Arena. You can follow live stats here and also watch live video here.