QUINCY, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team closed out its fall semester with a 74-64 win over Eastern Nazarene College tonight.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 3-6.
• Eastern Nazarene, 2-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first quarter was the Shannon Smally (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) show for the Judges, as the graduate student forward scored half of the team's points as Brandeis took an 18-9 lead.
• Smally stayed hot, adding eight more points to finish the first half with 17 – two shy of her season-high – as the Judges increased their lead to 36-27.  She hit 8-of-10 from the field with a free throw in the opening 20 minutes.
• Although ENC kept Smally contained in the second half, sophomore Caitlin Gresko (Howell, N.J./Howell) stepped up her scoring. She notched six in the third period and eight more in the fourth.
• Brandeis led 52-40 after three quarters and opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, but ENC battled back. The Lions closed within five points at 64-59 with 4:21 to go on an Anaira Ayala free throw.
• The Judges answered with the game's next four points, but Ayala hit a 3-pointer and Te'Yalla Simpson hit a bucket after a Brandeis turnover to get the Lions within 68-64 with 2:36 left, but the home team would not score again.
• Brandeis senior Tathiana Pierre (Jericho, N.Y. / Sacred Heart Academy) responded with a trifecta of her own to put a dagger in Eastern Nazarene's comeback.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Smally tied for game-high honors with her 17 first-half points, while Gresko finished second on the team in scoring with 16 points.
• Senior Emma Reavis (Miami, Okla./Deerfield Acad., Mass.) came two assists shy of a triple-double with 11 points, a team- and career-high 10 rebounds, and eight assists – one short of her career-best.
• ENC was paced by Alondra Jimenez, who stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. She had 10 of her 17 points in the first half.
• Ayala added 16 points and Delany Walker had 13.
• The Judges dominated the boards, 51-38. Though their advantage was only 15-13 on the offensive glass, they had 18 second-chance points, compared to just three for ENC.
• Brandeis also had a 19-10 advantage in points off the bench with five players contributing, led by six points each sophomore Mollie Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely) and Katherine Vaughan (Bedford, Mass. / Bedford).
• ENC kept pace with the Judges thanks to their 3-point shooting, as the Lions connected on 13 3-pointers – five from Ayala and three each from Walker and Jiminez.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges snapped a four-game losing streak with their win.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis is off until New Year's Eve, when they take on Salem State University at 1 p.m.