Casanueva nets 30 as women snap skid, 74-61, at Salem State

SALEM, Mass. – Sophomore guard Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) scored a career-high 30 points and played all 40 minutes tonight as the Brandeis University women's basketball team defeated Salem State, 74-61, for their first road victory of the season. The Judges improve to 2-3 on the season, while the Vikings fall to 1-5.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Casanueva was on fire in the first half, when she scored 18 of her 30 points, matching the entire Salem State roster in the first 20 minutes.
• She had 11 points in the first quarter, shooting 4-of-4 from the field, including all three of her 3-point attempts, as the Judges never trailed and took a 24-11 lead.
• Brandeis hit 56% as a team (10-18) in the first period while holding Salem State to 26% (5-19).
• Casanueva added seven more points in the second, a slow offensive period won by the Judges, 11-7. She made her fifth-straight shot before finally missing on a trifecta midway through the period.
• Trailing, 35-18, at halftime, Salem State had their best offensive period in the third. They cut into the Brandeis lead by outscoring the Judges, 26-21, making it a 56-4 game with 10 minutes to go. Casanueva had five points in the quarter.
• In the fourth, she added seven more as Brandeis outscored the Vikings, 18-17.  Casanueva hit one free throw with 32 seconds on the clock to reach the 30-point plateau.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Casanueva became the first Brandeis player to score 30 points in a game since the 2010 season when All-American Jessica Chapin '10 did it three times.
• Casanueva hit 10-of-15 from the field, 5-of-8 from downtown and 5-of-6 from the line.
• It marked the second-straight game that she scored a career-high, having netted 18 points in a loss to Tufts on Sunday.
• In addition to her 30 points, the five 3-pointers were also a career-high as were her six steals.
• Four other Brandeis starters scored in double figures for the Judges. Senior Sarah Jaromin (E. Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) finished with 11 points thanks to 7-of-8 from the line, while sophomore Jillian Petrie (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) and rookie Shannon Smally (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) had 10 points apiece.
• Brandeis outrebounded Salem State, 50-40, thanks to a balanced attack. Smally just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds, while Petrie and Casanueva had eight each and Jaromin had seven caroms.
• Sophomore Kat Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) had a game-high five assists, tying a career-best.
• Salem State's Gina Moschella had 22 points to lead the home team, while Natalie Mellinger had 10 points off the bench.
• Kia Fernandes led the Vikings with a game-high 12 rebounds, but only one other SSU player had as many as five.
• Brianna Rodriguez led Salem State with four assists and four steals.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis looks to get back to .500 on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they play host to Johnson and Wales University.
• Salem State is at Emmanuel at the same time.