WALTHAM, Mass. - The Brandeis University women's basketball team was bested by the 16th ranked University of Chicago, 71-36, tonight in Auerbach Arena. With the loss, the Judges fall to 9-6 (1-3 in the University Athletic Association), while the Maroons remain undefeated in conference and improve their record to 12-3 (4-0 UAA).
Senior forward Amber Strodthoff (DePere, Wis./ DePere) led the Judges in scoring tonight with eight points. Rookie guard Julia Scanlon (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris) was just behind her with seven points. This was Brandeis' second game in a row with no players scoring in double digits. Defensively, senior forward Mia DePalo (Rumson, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) led the team with five rebounds.
Chicago was paced by junior guard Meghan Herrick (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) who scored a game-high 17 points and led the game with four steals. Junior forward Taylor Simpson (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summitt) posted a double-double, with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Maroons set the pace early on, scoring eight unanswered points to take a 9-1 lead over the Judges just four minutes into the game. But the Judges answered back with two uncontested shots from Strodthoff and Shakara Scott (Philadelphia, Pa./ Central) bring Brandeis within four points making the score 9-5, for their smallest deficit for the rest of the game. For the rest of the half, Chicago outscored the Judges, 30-7, making 14-of-31 from the floor (45.2%) and 9-of-10 from the line (90.0%). The Maroons closed the half with a 29 point lead at 41-12.
The second half saw a stronger Brandeis squad, improving their shooting percentage to 33.3% in the second from 19.2% in the first half. Chicago's junior guard Joann Torres (Richgrove, Calif./Cesar Chavez) opened the second half with a three pointer, to give her team a 44-12 lead. A 3-pointer by rookie forward Christiane Murray (Fairfax, Va./Woodson) gave Chicago their biggest lead of the game, bringing the score to 66-29 with four minutes left in the game.
The Judges next game is Sunday, January 23 against Washington University at 1:30pm. Chicago also plays on Sunday, against New York University at 2:00pm.