Women fall to #17 Babson, 85-56

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start tonight as the Judges fell to the 17^th-ranked Babson College Beavers, 85-56, in Red Auerbach Arena.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 2-5.
• Babson, 4-0, ranked #17 in Division III by D3hoops.com and WBCA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Beavers were in control from the start, scoring the game's first 12 points.
• Brandeis didn't get on the board until a free throw with four minutes to go in the first. The Judges didn't hit their first field goal until grad student Shannon Smally (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) hit a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to end the period to cut the visitors' lead to 22-7.
• The Judges were outscored, 18-15, in the second period to trail 40-20 at halftime.
• Brandeis looked to climb back into in the third quarter when they owned a 24-15 scoring advantage.
• The hosts cut their deficit in half when two free throws by senior Francesca Marchese (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Academy) made it 46-36 with 3:55 to go.
• Beaver reserve Kiara Simone Davis scored the game's next seven points on a 3-pointer and two free throws to push Babson's lead back to 17 at 53-36 just 2:22 later.
• The Judges made another push, closing on an 8-2 run thanks to another buzzer-beater, this time on a put-back by senior Emma Reavis (Miami, Okla./Deerfield Acad., Mass.).
• Brandeis got within 11 a couple of times in the fourth period, but Babson found their range again, shooting 52.9% from the field (9-17) to outscore the Judges, 30-12, for the 29-point final margin.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Senior Tathiana Pierre (Jericho, N.Y. / Sacred Heart Academy) scored 13 points to lead the Judges, finishing one shy of her career-best. Pierre hit 4-of-5 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point range, and 4-of-5 from the line.
• Ten of her 13 points came in the second half. Pierre also finished one shy of her career-best with six rebounds while dishing out two assists.
• Smally was the only other player to reach double digits for the Judges, scoring 10 points. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
• Babson had five players score in double digits. Guard Megan Baumann led all players with 22 points, while forward Samantha Smith recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
• Abby Miller had 11 points off the bench, while Davis and Kelly Walsh each had 10 points.
• Bauman also had a game-high six assists.
• The Beavers shot 40.3% from the field for the game (29-72), 41.7% from 3-point range (10-24) and a perfect 17-of-17 from the line.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• This is the most-player non-conference rivalry in Brandeis women's basketball history, with tonight's game being the 54^th edition. Babson took a 29-25 lead in the series.
• It marked the first time the road team won in the rivalry since 2015.

UP NEXT

• The Judges return to action with a home game on Saturday at 1 p.m. against MIT.
• Babson meets Bridgewater State on Friday evening at Williams College at 8 p.m. as part of the Shooting Touch Tournament.