WELLESLEY, Mass. (courtesy Wellesley College sports
information) -- The visiting Brandeis Judges held off a
furious second comeback from Wellesley College tonight to down the
Blue, 64-52, at Keohane Sports Center. The win lifts the
ninth-ranked Judges to 5-0 while Wellesley drops to 1-3.
The Blue got on the board first with a baseline drive from Becca
Kimball (Weston, Mass), but Brandeis tied the score with a steal
and layup from senior guard Jessica Chapin
(Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima). The Judges quickly built a
five-point edge with back-to-back buckets from sophomore goard
Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable),
including a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Wellesley answered
with two from Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, Mass.), but the Judges
surged ahead with four straight points for an 11-4 lead at the
12:46 mark.
Wellesley's Robyn Burleson (Seattle, Wash.) trimmed the lead with
a trey with 9:56 remaining, but that was as close as the hosts
would get in the first period. The Judges held the Blue scoreless
for the next seven minutes while building a 31-7 lead, a run that
included 3-pointers from Chapin and senior guard Carmela
Breslin (McKees Rocks, Pa./Oakland Catholic) and fastbreak
buckets from Chapin, Kendrew, and sophomore forward Brighid
Courtney (Southampton, Mass./Northampton). Kimball broke
the ice for the Blue with a freethrow at the 2:40 mark, and the
Blue managed six more points in the closing minutes, including two
jumpers from Judine St. Gerard (Milton, Mass.), but Brandeis went
to the lockerroom with a 36-14 advantage.
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second
period, until a four-point run gave the Judges a 44-18 lead with
15:03 remaining. Wellesley responded with a 10-4 run, including a
three-pointer from Laura Barrett (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.), before
Brandeis surged ahead again, courtesy of another trey from Breslin,
to take a 53-30 lead. But Wellesley, who outscored Brandeis 38-28
in the second half, went on a 14-3 run over the next three minutes,
cutting the Judges' lead to 56-44 with 6:00 minutes remaining. And
a leaning jumper from Wellesley's Sargent brought the Blue to
within 10 with 4:05 left.
With 1:42 left on the clock, two freethrows from Katie Martore
(Great Fall, Va.) put the score at 57-49, but Chapin drained a
three-pointer at 1:02 to push the lead back to double-digits.
Chapin followed with two free throws 20 seconds later to put the
game out of reach, as the Judges held on for the 64-52 win.
Brandeis was led by Chapin, whose 18 points give her a career
total of 971, moving her into the top ten scorers in Brandeis
history. Kendrew added a career-high 17 points and Breslin chipped
in 12.
Kimball led the Blue with 17 points as Sargent hit a career-high
12 points while grabbing eight boards. Barrett, Burleson, and Malia
Maier (Torrance, Calif.) added five points each in the loss.
After a brief Thanksgiving break, the Judges return to action on
Sunday, November 29, at 1:00pm when they host Tufts University in a
key non-conference matchup. The Blue take the court on Monday, Nov.
30, at 7:00pm, when they host Wentworth Institute of Technology.