WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team won a defensive struggle today as the Judges held visiting UMass Boston scoreless for the final 7:35 of the contest in a 48-44 non-conference decision on Red Auerbach Arena. With the win, the Judges close the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 7-4 record. The Beacons fall to 7-5 on the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The contest featured seven ties and 14 lead changes.
• The largest lead of the game was five points, held by UMass Boston held late in the first quarter. The Judges scored on their final possession to cut the deficit to 11-8 after 10 minutes.
• Brandeis hit two of their three 3-pointers in the second period, outscoring UMB, 13-10, to tie the game, 21-all, at halftime.
• The contest looked to be tied after three quarters as well before Beacon sophomore Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn./E. Catholic) beat the buzzer on a put-back to give the visitors a 37-35 lead headed into the fourth.
• Brandeis junior center Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) had a steal to open the final quarter and scored on the other end to tie the game at 37.
• UMB sophomore Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass./O'Bryant) answered with a 3-pointer to push the Beacons' lead back to 40-37.
• Paris Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) hit a jumper to respond, but Beacon senior center Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass./Canton) hit a lay-up.
• After the Beacons got a stop, Murphy grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. She hit both from the line – UMB's only trip in the second half – and gave the visitors a 44-39 lead with 7:35 left.
• Brandeis held UMass Boston off the scoreboard the rest of the way, holding them to 0-for-11 from the floor with two turnovers in that span, outscoring them 9-0.
• Down by five, senior Niki Laskaris (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) quickly made it a one-possession game at 44-43 with a fast-break lay-up and a jumper from just inside the arc at the 6:26 mark.
• Though they held defensively, Brandeis didn't reclaim the lead until sophomore Noel Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) stole the ball and hit a streaking Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) for what would prove to be the game-winning bucket with 2:06 left.
• The Judges got two more defensive stops before Paris Hodges scored on a strong drive to the hoop with 27.9 seconds left on the clock to make it a 47-44 lead. Noel Hodges grabbed the rebound on the ensuing UMB miss and hit 1-of-2 from the line with 11.8 remaining for the final 48-44 tally.

FOR BRANDEIS

• Jackson registered her second double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. It was her second-straight 15-rebound game and third of the season.
• Jackson has double-digit rebounds in three-straight games and four of the last five. She also had two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.
• Laskaris was the only other Brandeis play to score in double digits with 10 points, four coming in the key ending stretch.
• Noel Hodges led the Judges with four assists – tying a career-high - while Cain had three helpers.  

FOR UMASS BOSTON

• Murphy had a game-high 15 points, but needed 6-of-16 shooting to get there. She also had a team-high 10 rebounds for her 11 double-double of the season.
• Kelsey added 11 off the bench for the visitors, hitting 3-of-4 from downtown in the process, while Mathieu had 10 points.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis held UMB 24 points below their season scoring average (68.6 ppg).
• It was the Beacons' lowest scoring output of the season and the second-lowest for the Judges.
• The 48 points scored by the Judges were the fewest in a winning effort since 2010.
• Brandeis won the battle of the boards, 48-36.
• The win avenged a 69-65 loss to the Beacons in Boston last season.

UP NEXT

• The Judges enter University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they head to New York City to take on #4/5 NYU.
• UMass Boston is at Rhode Island College for a Little East matchup at the same time.

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