WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team pulled out a nice win in its first of two University Athletic Association (UAA) games this weekend, topping the Case Western Reserve Spartans 69-66 in overtime.

For much of the game, it looked as if the Spartans would run away with it. After leading 14-11 at the end of one, they hit three quick 3-pointers at the beginning of the second quarter to go up by 12, including two by Jessica McCoy. McCoy had a game-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting.  Case Western pulled away even further at the end of the half, going on a 10-0 run with 2:46 remaining and heading into the locker room up 16.

The third quarter started with more of the same, as the Spartans extended their lead to a game-high 23 and were up 46-23 with 6:44 to go. The Judges fought back however, and went on an 11-0 run that included six points from junior forward Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y./ Half Hollow Hills West), who had 10 in the quarter. The Judges outrebounded Case Western 10-4 in the third, and cut the deficit to 50-41.

Brandeis dominated the fourth as well, forcing seven turnovers and turning them into 11 points; the Spartans had no points off turnovers in the quarter. The Judges' free throw shooting helped them climb back into the game as well, as they were 6-6 from the line in the final quarter and 25-28 (89.3%) for the game. Junior forward Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./ Hilton) hit two free throws with 57 seconds left to pull within one, and junior guard Paris Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./ Southampton) hit two more clutch shots from the charity stripe with 14 seconds remaining to tie the game at 60 and send it to overtime.

The extra period went back and forth, with four lead changes. Each team alternated leads until McCoy made a layup with 1:38 left. Senior guard Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass./ Gloucester) made the biggest play of the game with 12.7 seconds left, putting up a three-point play after getting fouled on a layup. Case Western took two desperation 3-pointers to try and tie it but neither went down.

Sodine was the most valuable player for Brandeis, posting her fourth career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Hodges also had a big game, with seven points and eight rebounds, and Jackson added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Brandeis improved its record to 9-8 overall, 2-4 UAA, while Case Western dropped to 6-11, 1-5 UAA.

The Judges play at home against Carnegie Mellon on Sunday, January 31 at 2 p.m.

-- by Corey Cohen '18