Puda shines in 1st and 3rd periods as women win at Rochester, 56-52

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In a game that featured six ties and four lead changes, with neither team getting more than a five-point lead, the Brandeis University women's basketball team held off the host University of Rochester Yellowjackets, 56-52, in a University Athletic Association contest today. With the win, the Judges improve to 7-10, 3-4 UAA, while the Yellowjackets fall to 8-19, 2-5 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis got off to a fast start in the first period, shooting 50 percent from the field (7-14) while holding UR to 24 percent (4-17) and taking an 18-13 lead.
• Sophomore Kat Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) had seven points in the first quarter and classmate Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) had five.
• The tables were turned in the second period, as Rochester held Brandeis to 13 percent from the floor (2-15). Though the Yellowjackets hit just 28 percent of their own (5-18), it was enough to outscore the Judges, 13-6, and take a 26-24 lead into the break.
• Neither team was able to make a dent in the score for the first three minutes of the second half before Brandeis's Maya Burris (San Francisco, Calif./Loomis Chaffee) tied the game with a lay-up on a fast break.
• UR's Brenna James answered on the next possession, but Puda hit two free throws to tie the game and a 3-pointer at the 4:50 mark to put the Judges ahead, 31-28, a lead they would never relinquish.
• A Sarah Jaromin (E. Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) lay-up with just under two minutes left in the third gave Brandeis its biggest lead of the second half at 38-33.
• Rochester got within a point on several occasions after that, but the Judges were able to keep them at bay.
• The latest was with 2:42 left in the game after Julianna Okoniewski hit a pair of free throws to make it 50-49, but Jaromin answered with a lay-up for Brandeis on the next possession. Neither team scored again until the final 20 seconds, as the Judges hit just enough free throws to maintain the lead.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Puda was the Judges' leading scorer for the second game in a row, finishing with 14 points. She did all of her work in the first and third quarters, scoring seven points in each.
• Jaromin added 10 points, all coming in the second half.
• Burris and Casanueva each added nine points.
• Despite being held to just two points, junior Hannah Nicholson (Sunderland, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds, her 10^th career double-digit rebound game.
• UR's Julianna Okoniewski led all players with 21 points, but no other Rochester player had more than seven.
• Okoniewski also pulled down 16 rebounds, while Shannon Loiseau had a game-high 16, as they helped Rochester to a 56-42 advantage on the glass.
• Camryn Fagan had six assists for the hosts, while Louiseau had five blocked shots.
• The Judges shot just 30.8 percent from the field for the game (20-65), but they held Rochester to 27.9 percent (19-68). Brandeis also outshot UR from beyond the arc, 33.3% (4-12) to 11.8% (2-17).
• Brandeis was also able to use their turnovers efficiently, converting nine Yellowjacket miscues into 15 points, while Rochester only had four points on eight Judge turnovers.
• The win, coupled with the men's 75-69 win in the opener, gave Brandeis its first sweep in Rochester since 2010, and only the third-ever, along with the 2009.

UP NEXT

Brandeis will face the same opponents from the road this weekend next weekend at home. They will meet Emory on Friday evening at 6 p.m. and Rochester on Super Bowl Sunday at 2 p.m.