ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Brandeis women's basketball team pushed host and eighth-ranked Washington University tonight, but a cold spell midway through the fourth quarter kept the Judges from pulling the  upset in a 65-59 University Athletic Association defeat tonight.        

HOW IT HAPPENED

• WashU opened up a 23-14 lead after one quarter thanks to reserve Natalie Orr, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 from downtown for 13 points.
• Brandeis had one of its best defensive period of the season in the second period, holding the Bears to just six points on 2-of-11 from the field, while scoring 15 of their own to tie the game at 29-29.
• WashU opened up an early six-point lead in the third quarter, and the Bears were still ahead, 47-42 with 3:19 on the clock, but Judge rookie reserve Sarah Jaromin (E. Greenbush, N.Y. / Columbia) hit two free throws and a 3-pointer, tying the game at 47-47 with 1:44 left.
• Washington's Steph Botkin hit a bucket with under a minute to go giving the hosts a 49-47 lead headed into the final period.
• After the teams opened with an empty possession each, Jaromin canned a trifecta to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving Brandeis its first lead since 2-0.
• WashU connected on two free throws to reclaim the lead, but Brandeis junior forwards Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) and Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) scored on back-to-back hoops to put the Judges ahead 54-51 with 7:57 left.
• At that point, the hosts went on the key run, scoring 11 unanswered points, holding the Judges without a field goal for the next five minutes. Orr had five points in the stretch for WashU, with her jumper at the 3:40 mark making it a 62-54 lead.
• The teams both turned the ball over on their next possessions, but Jackson hit consecutive lay-ups to get the Judges within 62-58 with 2:29 left, cutting the Brandeis deficit in half and forcing WashU to call timeout.
• After two more turnovers, Brandeis had the ball with under a minute to go, but couldn't convert despite grabbing an offensive rebound. WashU missed a pair of foul shots with 39 seconds left.
• Judge junior Kyla Gabriel (Tivoli, N.Y./Red Hook) hit 1-of-2 from the line with 16 ticks left, but the Bears connected on 3-of-4 to provide the final six-point margin of victory.

FOR BRANDEIS

• Sodine finished with a team-high 16 points, hitting 7-of-8 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line.
• She also set a career-high with five assists.
• Jackson added 15 points on 7-of-13 from the floor and a pulled down a game-high 9 rebounds. Thirteen of her 15 points came in the first and fourth quarters.
• Jaromin scored a career-high 12 points in just 24 minutes off the bench, connecting on 3-of-5 overall, 3-of-4 from downtown and 3-of-4 from the line.
• Gabriel led all players with six assists and played 37 minutes, both career highs.

FOR WASHINGTON U.

• Orr led all players with 24 points off the bench in just 26 minutes, hitting 8-of-12 overall, 4-of-7 from downtown and 4-of-4 from the line.
• Jenn Dynis added 11 points, while Jordan Thompson had 10.
• Katybeth Biewen tied for game-high honors with nine rebounds and had seven steals. Biewen and Thompson led the Bears with four assists each.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges outshot WashU, 43.1% (22-51) to 36.2% (21-58) from the field, and outrebounded the Bears, 41-35.
• Washington owned a 20-8 advantage in second-chance points. They also used a 17-10 scoring edge from the line.
• The hosts won the turnover battle, 21-10, but points off those miscues were even at 15-each.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis (8-7, 1-3 UAA) heads to the University of Chicago for a 1 p.m. Central (2 Eastern) start on Sunday.
• Washington (13-2, 4-0 UAA) meets NYU at the same time.