WALTHAM, Mass. — Brandeis University senior Kasey Dean (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) scored a career-high 20 points this afternoon, but it wasn't enough to offset hot perimeter shooting from the visiting University of Chicago Maroons, who connected on 11-of-23 from beyond the arc to hand the Judges an 85-72 defeat in University Athletic Association women's basketball play today. Brandeis drops its second in a row after a six-game winning streak to fall to 12-10, 6-5 in the UAA. Chicago improve to 14-8, 8-3 UAA.
Dean scored nine of her career-high 20 in the first half and had 11 in the second. She connected on 7-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line. Also reaching double figures for the Judges were sophomore Niki Laskaris (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott), who tallied 13 off the bench, including 11 in the second half. Laskaris hit 6-of-12 from the floor with a 3-pointer – the Judges' only trifecta of the day. Rookie guard Paris Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) added 12 points on 4-of-4 from the field and 4-of-7 from the line. She also tied for game-high honors with four assists.
Brandeis senior Nicolina Vitale (Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley) had a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Janelle Rodriguez (Peabody, Mass./Peabody Veterans) and rookie Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) had six each as the Judges owned a 39-34 advantage on the glass. Rodriguez also led all players with three steals.
Chicago offset Dean's 20-point performance with five different players scoring in double figures and their hot 3-point shooting. Despite getting outshot from the floor, 48% to 44%, the Maroons nailed 48% from 3-point range (11-23), compared to just 8% for the Judges (1-13). Two UC players tied for team-high scoring honors, as junior Ellie Greiner (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Acad.) and senior Julie Muguira (Boise, Idaho/Bishop Kelly) each had 15 points. Greiner was perfect shooting on the day, hitting all five of her attempts from beyond the arc. Muguira was 4-of-9 overall, 3-of-6 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the line. Chicago senior Maggie Ely (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) and sophomore Paige Womack (Plano, Texas/Plano West) each scored 13 points, with Ely hitting 2-3 from downtown, while Womack was the only UC player in double digit scoring without a 3-pointer. Junior Claire Devaney (Washington, D.C./St. Andrews) finished with 12 points and one from long range.
Devaney, Womack and Greiner matched Vitale for game-high honors with seven rebounds, while Devaney and Muguira also had four assists for the visitors. The 85 points scored by the Maroons was the second-highest total allowed by the Judges this season, surpassed only by the 97 they surrendered on January 19 in Chicago. UC hit 10 3-pointers in that game as well.
Brandeis never led in the contest, as Chicago hit on four 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes take an 18-10 lead. The Maroons led by as many as 11 points in the first half before a Laskaris jumper with eight seconds before the break cut the deficit to 36-28 headed into the locker room. Dean and Greiner each had nine points before the break, with Ely and Womack both adding seven for the visitors. Chicago then opened the second half on a 14-6 run over the first four minutes. They took a 50-34 lead at the 15:58 mark on Greiner's fourth long bomb of the day, and the Judges never got within single digits the rest of the way. The Maroon lead ballooned to as many as 23 on a Devaney traditional three-point play before Brandeis closed the game on a 16-6 run to get within the final margin of 13.
The Judges return to the road in the UAA next weekend to travel to the University of Rochester on Friday night at 6 p.m. and to Emory next Sunday at 2 p.m.