Brandeis Women's Basketball falls to 16th-ranked Emmanuel College 62-46

Mikaela Garvin '15 (photo by Sportspix/Jan Volk)
Mikaela Garvin '15 (photo by Sportspix/Jan Volk)

WALTHAM, Mass.- The Brandeis University women's basketball team could not overcome poor shooting in the first half as they fell to the Emmanuel College Saints (No. 16 in the nation by D3hoops.com and No. 17 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association) 62-46 at Red Auerbach Arena in non-conference action. Despite a team-high 10 points off the bench for sophomore guard Mikaela Garvin (Providence, R.I./ Hope), the Judges could not erase a 19 point deficit at the break and fell to 2-3 on the year while the Saints improved to 4-0.

In the first half, sophomore guard Hannah Cain (Gloucester, Mass./ Gloucester) scored the first basket of the game with a mid-range jumper but Emmanuel reeled off a 16-4 run to take control of the game. Brandeis was able to keep the deficit at 10 after a pair of free throws from Garvin to make it 24-14 with 3:51 remaining in the period. Unfortunately, the Saints went on a 9-0 spurt to close out the half and take a commanding 33-14 lead into the break. Although the Judges shot 8 for 10 from the line, they were 3 for 25 from the field, including 0 for 4 from 3-point range, as they dug themselves a hole.

In the second half, Emmanuel opened the period with excellent shooting, taking their largest lead of the contest at the 10:54 mark when junior guard Bria Tiro (Saugus, Mass./ Saint Mary's) scored from downtown to give the visitors a 48-21 advantage. In the following two minutes of play, Brandeis went on an 8-2 run capped by an old fashioned three point play from Cain to make it 50-29 with 8:51 left in the game. The Judges would go on to outscore the Saints 17-12 the rest of the way for a final tally of 62-46.

Garvin led Brandeis with 10 points, all from the charity stripe, while senior forward Erika Higginbottom (Millbury, Mass./ Worcester Acad.) and junior guard Kasey Dean (Southbury, Conn./ Pomperaug) each contributed nine. Cain also chipped in with seven points to go two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Dean led the squad with eight rebounds and senior forward Angela Miller (Sicklerville, N.J./ Timber Creek) grabbed seven caroms off the bench. Higginbottom and rookie forward Ceara McNamara (Amherst, N.H./ Southegan) shared team-high honors with two blocks each. Finally, Higginbottom shared team-high honors in steals with Dean and junior guard Julia Scanlon (Long Valley, N.J./ West Morris) as each had player two apiece.  

For the Saints, senior forward Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn./ Stamford) led the way with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. Junior forward Liz Daley (Sharon, Mass./ Sharon) nearly joined her with 12 points and eight rebounds while senior forward Laura Benvenuto (Wyckoff, N.J./ Immaculate Heart Acad.) chipped in nine points. Benvenuto also led the squad with four assists and three steals as O'Dwyer earned another team-high honor with three blocks.

The Judges continue their season on Saturday December 1st at Daniel Webster with a 1:00 p.m. tip off. Emmanuel travels to Rhode Island College on Thursday November 29th for a 5:30 p.m. tip off.