Four score in double figures as women knock of NYU, 69-61, to open UAA slate

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team scored 17 unanswered points at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth as the Judges held off a late charge by visiting New York University to pick up a 69-61 University Athletic Association victory in the conference opener for both teams. Brandeis improves to 5-6, 1-0 UAA, while NYU falls to 7-3, 0-1 UAA.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges led for much of the first half, taking a 17-11 win after one period that they extended to 33-25 after two.
• Sophomore guard Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) led all players with 13 points and seven rebounds in the first half.
• Brandeis outshot NYU, 40.6% to 27.3% in the first to establish the lead.
• The Violets rallied in the third quarter, opening on an 11-2 run to take a 36-35 lead on two Olivia Linebarger free throws with 4:44 on the clock.
• After Brandeis's Sarah Jaromin (E. Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) hit a lay-up to put the home team up one, NYU's Janean Cuffee connected from downtown to give the Violets a 39-37 lead with 4:18 on the clock.
• At that point, Brandeis went on the decisive run, scoring the final 12 points of the third. Six of the 12 points came from the free-throw line, with four scored by rookie Maya Burris (San Francisco, Calif./Loomis Chaffee).
• With a 49-39 lead after three, the Judges scored the first five points of the third to take their largest lead of the game at 15 points on a Lauren Rubinstein (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) trifecta with 7:31 remaining that made it 54-39.
• NYU wasn't done, as the Violets' Cuffee caught fire. She scored the game's next 11 points all by herself, including three 3-pointers, as the visitors cut the deficit to four points at 56-52 with 4:14 to go.
• After calling timeout, Brandeis scored the next four points of the game in the paint, and the Judges were able to maintain a two-possession lead the rest of the way.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis put four players in double figures for the game. Casanueva was the high scorer after her big first half, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-15 from the field, 3-of-7 from 3-point range and both free throws.
• Rubinstein scored a career-best 14 points, in a career-high 27 minutes off the bench. Nine of her points came in the first half.  Rubinstein hit 5-of-8 overall, 2-of-3 from deep and 2-of-2 from the line.
• Burris also netted a career-high with 10 points, six coming in the fourth quarter.
• Junior forward Hannah Nicholson (Sunderland, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, eight in the second half.
• The Judges won the battle of the boards, thanks to 10 caroms from Jaromin – one shy of her career-best – eight from Casanueva and seven from Nicholson.
• Sophomore Kat Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) led the Judges with five assists, while Rubinstein had four to tie a career-best.
• NYU was led by Cuffee, who scored a game-high 28 points, 15 coming in the fourth period. She hit 10-of-24 overall, 6-of-15 from downtown and 2-of-2 from the line.
• Katie Foos added 16 points, 11 in the first half.
• Linebarger led all players with 11 rebounds, while Annie Barrett had a game-high seven assists.
• For the game,  Brandeis outscored NYU, 14-6, from the free-throw line and 33-23 from the bench.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis will head on the road for their next two UAA contests, at Carnegie Mellon next Friday night at 6 p.m. and at Case Western Reserve next Sunday afternoon at noon.
• NYU will face the same opponents next weekend, with CWRU on Friday and CMU on Sunday