ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Brandeis University senior guard Mia DePalo (Rumson, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) led the Judges with 14 points, thanks to 4-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, but the host University of Rochester Yellowjackets used two big runs, one in each half, to pull away with an 80-51 victory. With the loss, the Judges fall to .500 at 10-10, 2-7 in the UAA, while 18th-ranked Rochester improves to 16-4, 6-3 UAA.

DePalo led Brandeis with her 14 points, 11 coming in the second half. Including the Judges' first game with Rochester a week ago, DePalo averaged 17.5 points per game against UR, hitting 9-of-11 from beyond the arc in the two contests. Junior guard Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) added 11 points, six coming before the break. Sophomore Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) topped the team with five rebounds. No other Brandeis player had more than three as the visitors lost the battle of the boards, 35-23, tied for their lowest rebounding deficit of the season.

UR placed three starters in double figures, with senior Melissa Alwardt topping all players for the second time in a row in the series with 16 points. She hit 6-of-12 overall and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Kristyn Wright added 12 points thanks to a pair of trifectas, while Jodie Luther had eight of her 10 points in the first half. Madeline Korber led all players with six rebounds. Rochester outshot Brandeis, 49.1% to 39.1%, while dominating the offensive glass (14-7, 18-0 scoring second-chance points) and turnover battled (17-7, 22-0 points off turnovers).

The Judges started strong, at one point hitting 6-of-8 shots to open up an early 13-6 lead on an offensive rebound by sophomore forward Courtney Ness (Norwich, Vt./Hanover, N.H.) with just under six-and-a-half minutes gone. The lead was still five, at 22-17 with 8:24 left in the first, when UR went on their first big run. The Yellowjackets outscored Brandeis, 22-2, the rest of the way to take a 37-24 lead into the locker room. They held Brandeis to 1-of-7 shooting with four turnovers in that stretch.

In the second half, the Judges hung around, never going down by more than 12 points early in the stanza. The UR lead was still nine, 51-42, at the 11-minute mark after a pair of Anderson free throws, when the hosts went on their second big spurt. UR scored 16 of the game's next 18 points over a span of 5:38. The run was capped by an Alwardt trifecta that made it a 67-44 lead that was never in doubt the rest of the way.

Brandeis returns home next weekend to face Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve on Friday and Sunday, while Rochester hosts Chicago and Washington (Mo.) at the same time in battles of nationally-ranked teams.