ROCHESTER, N.Y. (taken from a Rochester press release) – For the second time this season, the Brandeis women's basketball team took an early fourth-quarter lead on the University of Rochester, but the Judges couldn't hang on, falling to the Yellowjackets, 61-51, in a University Athletic Association contest tonight in the Louis Alexander Palestra. The Judges fall to 12-10 on the season, 4-8 in the UAA. Rochester improves to 19-4, 9-3 UAA.
It was a slow start offensively for both teams with the first period ending with Rochester leading Brandeis 11-7. The second quarter was more of the same, with UR owning a 13-10 advantage to take a 24-17 lead at the half.
Brandeis got things going in the third, going on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 32. The Judges would go on to take their first lead since the opening minutes when they went ahead 36-34 with two minutes remaining in the third period. The Yellowjackets' Lauren Deming would hit free throws with 11 seconds left in the quarter to give Rochester a 38-36 lead after three.
After Brandeis rookie Jillian Petrie (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) hit a quick 3-pointer to open the final period giving the Judges a brief 39-36 lead. Rochester answered with a 9-0 run to gain the lead back and go up 48-39. The Yellowjackets did not look back as they would go on to win by 10.
Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, with Brandeis committing 14 and Rochester 12, but the hosts settled down in the second 20 minutes, committing just five more, while Brandeis had 16 to finish with 30, a season-high.
Leading the way for Brandeis was junior Joelle Markanthony (Wallingford, Conn./Mark E. Sheehan) with 12 points and three rebounds. Rookie Katherine Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) added 11 points and four boards, and senior Noel Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) had 8 points, six rebounds and two assists after missing last weekend's contests due to injury..
Rochester struggled shooting the three, going 1-16 from behind the arc. As a result, the Yellowjackets turned to their "bigs" inside as Alexandra Leslie and Lauren Deming each had huge games on both ends of the court.
Leslie led the way scoring with 19 points on 7-15 shooting. She added 10 rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 31 minutes. Deming tacked on 16 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes. She also had a career-high seven steals on the defensive end. Brynn Lauer added 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds for Rochester in 28 minutes.