WALTHAM, Mass. - Brandeis University senior Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) came up just short of a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and the Judges shot a scorching 70.8 percent from the field in the first half en route to a 90-65 University Athletic Association victory over New York University in Red Auerbach Arena today. With the win, Brandeis ends the regular season at 16-8, 9-5 in the UAA, tied for third place with the University of Rochester. NYU ends the campaign at 13-12, 5-9 in the UAA, good for fifth place.
Chapin and the Judges were just about unstoppable in the first 20 minutes, hitting 16 of their first 20 shots and finishing the stanza hitting 17-of-24 to take a 47-23 lead at the break. At one point 13:20 into the contest, Chapin had outscored the entire Violet squad, 16-12. Chapin had a perfect shooting half in the first, connecting on 6-of-6 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and a free throw.
In addition, sophomore Shannon Hassan (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) set a career-high in the first half with 15 points. She hit 5-of-7 from the field and from the line in the first. Hassan also grabbed a game-high five rebounds in the first. Junior Chrissy Kilmurray (Wall, N.J./Wall) topped the visitors with eight points and four rebounds in the first half.
Brandeis opened the second half with a trifecta by senior forward Kasey Gieschen (Boonton Township, N.J./Mount Lakes), but NYU answered with an 8-2 run to close within 21 points on an Erica Franke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont) jumper that got the Violets within 52-31. The Judges answered with nine-straight points of their own, with Chapin scoring four and assisting on the other five, a jumper by sophomore Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) and a 3-pointer by junior Diana Cincotta (Plymouth, Mass./W. Boylston) and the Judges never let the lead slip below 24 points the rest of the way.
Chapin led the way with her fourth double-double of the season and the eighth of her career. She finished with 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from downtown to tie her own single-season record with 46 trifectas of the season. Her eight assists, five of which came in the second half, were a career-best. If the Judges' season is over, Chapin closes her career 1,280 points (sixth in school history), 262 assists (sixth), 243 steals (third) and 521 rebounds (eighth), while her 167 3-pointers are a school record. Her 20-point performance gives her 405 for the season, just the fourth 400-point campaign in Brandeis history.
Hassan finished the contest with 19 points, nine more than her previous career-high, while also pulling down seven rebounds. Senior Lauren Rashford (Whitesboro, N.Y./Whitesboro) finished with 13 points and three assists off the bench in her last home game. Gieschen had seven points and classmate Carmela Breslin (McKees Rocks, Pa./Oakland Catholic) had three in her final bow in Auerbach Arena.
The Judges also got fine performances from Kendrew (11 points) and junior Amber Strodthoff (DePere, Wisc./DePere), who had a game-high 11 rebounds. The Judges scored a season-high 90 points, just the second time they have tallied that much against the Violets in 44 meetings. The season-sweep is their first against NYU since 2003-04 and the second-ever.
NYU also had four players in double figures: Killmurray (14 points, nine rebounds), senior Hailey Kimball (North Berwich, Maine/Noble with 13 points), and 10 each from senior Jen Hum-Traverso (San Rafael, Calif./Convent of the Sacred Heart, team-high four assists) and junior Bianca Storts (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie).