ROCHESTER, N.Y. – After a close first three quarters, the Brandeis University women's basketball team couldn't complete a season sweep of host University of Rochester, dropping an 85-71 University Athletic Association contest. The Judges fall to 13-8 overall, 3-7 in the UAA, while the Yellowjackets move to 10-11, 4-6 UAA. The teams have now split the season series in six of the past eight seasons.
The first half was back-and-forth, featuring 10 lead changes. Brandeis had a slim 21-20 lead after one period, while Rochester outscored the Judges, 22-18, in the second to take a 42-39 lead into the locker room. Brandeis senior Hannah Nicholson (Sunderland, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) had 10 points to lead the Judges at the break, while three others tied with seven points after 20 minutes.
Rochester looked to pull away in the third, scoring the first four points to take a seven-point lead, but Brandeis wouldn't let the Yellowjackets pull away. The teams each scored 16 points in the third, giving UR a 58-55 lead headed into the final 10 minutes. In the fourth, Rochester opened the stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers by Hannah Lindemuth that gave them a nine-point lead less than a minute in. Brandeis's Courtney Thrun (Regina, Sask./Wilbraham and Monson Academy) snapped the streak and senior Lauren Rubinstein (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) connected from downtown to get the Judges within four at 64-60 with 7:04 to go. Lindemuth answered with a traditional three-point play, and the hosts were able to pull away from there. UR outshot Brandeis, 55% to 33% in the fourth quarter and outscored them, 12-0, from the line, to take the final 85-71 victory.
Brandeis put three starters in double figures in scoring. Nicholson led the Judges with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. She also pulled down seven rebounds. Junior guard Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) came close to a triple-double for the second game in a row, finishing with 14 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and seven assists. The double-double was her third of the campaign. Rubinstein added 10 points and five assists. Brandeis outrebounded, UR, 45-38.
Rochester was paced by Lindemuth's game-high 29 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. She hit 9-of-20 from the floor, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-5 from the line. Alexis Sestric added 19 points with three 3-pointers. Tessa Ludwick had a fine all-around performance with 14 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds. The Yellowjackets had a 16-10 edge in turnovers, but they were able to turn it into a 20-5 advantage in points off those turnovers.
Brandeis will look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon when they travel to Atlanta to meet Emory University at 2 p.m. Rochester will host NYU at the same time.