Women see five-game win streak snapped in UAA opener at NYU, 76-64

Camila Casanueva '21 (photo by Sportspix.com / Mike Tureski)
Camila Casanueva '21 (photo by Sportspix.com / Mike Tureski)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team cut a 20-point third-quarter deficit to five, but the Judges couldn't come all the way back as they suffered a 76-64 defeat at the hands of rival New York University in the University Athletic Association opener for both teams. Brandeis falls to 8-3 overall, -0-1 in the UAA as they see a five-game winning streak halted. NYU improves to 8-4, 1-0 UAA, with their fourth win in a row.

After Brandeis scored the game's first bucket, NYU rattled off the next 12 points, including eight in a row from graduate student Kaitlyn Read. A rare four-point play by Judge rookie guard Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif. / Dos Pueblos) midway through the period halted the Violet momentum. Brandeis climbed within three points at 16-13 on two Hannah Nicholson (Sunderland, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) free throws with 2:44 left in the stanza, but the hosts closed on an 11-4 run as Read added five more points to give NYU a 27-17 lead after one.

Brandeis crept back within five points on two occasions in the second quarter, including a Casanueva trifecta at the 4:10 mark and a Nicholson lay-up with 3:12 before intermission that made it 36-31. Once again, NYU closed strong, scoring the final eight points of the half to take a 44-31 lead into the locker room. NYU's Kayla Patterson scored seven points in the second and 11 for the first half, while Read scored all 13 of her first-half points in the first quarter. Casanueva led Brandeis with 12 points before the break, eight coming in the second.

The Violets extended their run through intermission, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to take their largest lead of the game at 51-31 on an Olivia Linebarger 3-pointer less than two minutes in. Brandeis still faced a 20-point deficit at 53-33 with 6:10 to go in the period when the Judges started to cut into the Violet lead. They scored 16 of the game's next 19 points, with junior Sarah Jaromin (E. Greenbush, N.Y. / Columbia) contributing six points to the run and a Casanueva trifecta with 1:03 left in the period getting Brandeis within seven at 56-49. NYU answered with a key three-point play by Shaye McGoey with 17 seconds left in the third to take a 59-49 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

NYU was able to stay ahead by as many as 12 points at 67-55 on a Paterson lay-up with 6:23 on the clock, but Brandeis hung tough. The Judges went on an 8-1 run over the next 4:30, as two Jaromin free throws with 2:41 remaining got the visitors within 68-63. Unfortunately, they scored just one point the rest of the way, as NYU hit six-of-six from the line and pulled down rebounds on six of seven missed shots down the stretch to take the 12-point victory, 76-64.

For the game, Brandeis put three players in double digits in scoring. Casanueva was the team's leading scorer for the first time in her career, finishing with a career-high 17 points in just 15 minutes of action. Casanueva hit 5-of-10 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the line. She also had three rebounds and a steal. Jaromin added 13 points off the bench, one shy of her career-best. Nicholson was the only Brandeis starter to reach double digits with 11 points on 2-of-6 from the floor along with 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. She also just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. Senior Noel Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) led the team with three assists and five steals.

For NYU, the story of the game was the duo of Patterson and Read. Patterson finished with game-highs of 23 points and 19 rebounds. She pulled down 13 of her rebounds on the offensive glass – three more that the entire Brandeis squad combined. Read finished with 21 points and five rebounds. Overall, NYU outrebounded Brandeis, 58-31, including 27-10 on the offensive boards. The Judges had entered the game leading the UAA in rebound margin at more than plus-nine per contest. Annie Barrett led all players with seven assists. 

Brandeis returns to action next weekend with their annual Midwest road trip.  The Judges are at #22 Washington University on Friday evening at 7 p.m. (6 Central) and at the University of Chicago on Sunday at 2 p.m. (1 Central).