AMHERST, Mass. -- All five starters scored in double figures
tonight as the Brandeis University women’s basketball team
advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III tournament
with an 82-70 victory over Muhlenberg College in the Sweet 16.
Brandeis (20-7) reached the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in
the last six seasons thanks to a balanced attack. Junior guard
Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima)
led the way for the 16th time this season with 17 points on 5-of-12
shooting with a 3-pointer and 6-of-7 from the line. Senior forward
Cassidy Dadaos (Healdsburg, Calif./Healdsburg)
matched her career-high with 14 points, 10 of which came in the
first half, while also leading the team with seven rebounds.
Classmate Lauren Orlando (Peabody, Mass./Peabody)
had 13 points and six boards. Sophomore guard Diana
Cincotta (W. Boylston, Mass./W. Boylston) added 12 points
and a team-high three assists, while rookie Morgan
Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) scored nine of her 11
points in the second half.
Brandeis shot 50.9% from the field for the game (29-57) and scored
24 points more than Muhlenberg was allowing for the season. They
also held the Mules to just 38.3% from the field (23-60), including
28.6% (8-28) in the first half. The Judges also used a 41-30
rebounding advantage to outscore Muhlenberg, 13-6, in second-chance
points, while the Brandeis forwards produced a 34-12 edge in points
in the paint.
Muhlenberg (26-4) ended its most successful season despite a
fantastic performance from senior guard Kelly McKeon. McKeon led
all players in points (25), rebounds (11) and assists (5). She shot
8-of-16 from the field with two 3-pointers, and was a perfect
7-for-7 from the line. McKeon produced 21 of her 25 points in the
second half. Also reaching double figures for the Mules was rookie
Alexandra Chili, who finished with 15 points, but the
nation’s second-ranked 3-point shooter, averaging 3.2 per
game, hit just 2-of-7 from beyond the arc to get there. Chili
scored nearly half her points from the free throw line, where she,
too, was 7-for-7. Senior Lauren Boyle had 11 points and a game-high
three steals. The Mules protected the ball, winning the turnover
battle, 12-8, but were only able to get a 14-9 scoring advantage
out of the miscues.
After a closely-fought first five minutes of the contest, the
game’s key run came over the next eight. Trailing, 10-9, with
15:32 on the clock, the Judges scored the game’s next 20
points, forcing the Mules to miss 10 straight shots and commit
three turnovers in that span. Chapin and Dadaos each had three
buckets in the key run, but six different Judges contributed to the
run that saw the Judges take a 29-10 lead with 7:25 left before
intermission. Brandeis was up, 36-16, with 4:32 left, when Chapin
picked up her third foul, and Muhlenberg responded with the last
eight points of the stanza. Dadaos led all players with 10
first-half points, while Chapin had nine. Chili paced the Mules
with six points in the first.
The early second half was a game of runs, as Brandeis went ahead by
as many as 18 and Muhlenberg as close as 11. Following a jumper by
the Judges’ Kelly Ethier (Springfield,
Mass./Minnechaug Reg.) that gave the Judges a 59-45 lead with 9:12
left, the Mules went on a 10-3 run to get within seven points on a
McKeon jumper. Brandeis responded, as Cincotta hit a driving lay-up
and Chapin converted a traditional three-point play, pushing the
lead back to 12. The Judges were able to keep Muhlenberg at bay the
rest of the way, as they never got closer than nine despite
McKeon’s best efforts.
Brandeis will play host Amherst in the Elite Eight tomorrow at
6:00 p.m. The Lord Jeffs defeated NYU, 74-51. Brandeis, along with
Washington University and the University of Rochester, will try to
put three University Athletic Association teams in the Elite Eight.