WALTHAM, Mass. – The visiting University of Rochester women's basketball team scored the first 14 points of the fourth period to erase Brandeis University's three-point lead entering the period as the Yellowjackets escaped with a 74-66 University Athletic Association win in Red Auerbach Arena today. With the loss, Brandeis falls to 7-12 overall, 3-6 in the UAA, while UR improves to 9-11, also 3-6 in the  UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges controlled the first two periods, closing the first on a 9-2 run to take an 18-14 lead thanks to a fast-break lay-up by Samira Abdelrehim (Burlington, Conn./Lewis S. Mills).
• Rochester got back into the game early in the second, tying the game at 20-all, but Brandeis answered. The Judges took their biggest lead of the game on a Maya Burris (San Francisco, Calif./Loomis Chaffee, Conn.) jumper with 1:42 left.
• Rochester's Jamie Boeheim had a traditional three-point play with under a minute to go, but Brandeis sophomore Kat Puda (Whitinsville, Mass./Worcester Academy) dialed long distance on the next possession to give Brandeis a 41-32 lead at the break.
• Brandeis's Puda and Camila Casanueva (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) each scored 10 points in the first half, while UR's Tessa Ludwig had seven.
• Rochester kept Brandeis at bay in the third period, holding the Judges to just two field goals over the first nine minutes.
• The visitors tied the game at 46-46 on a pair Lena Ethington free throws at the 2:33 mark, but the Yellowjackets were whistled for an administrative technical foul after a player ran onto the court to pick a dropped headband.
• Brandeis hit one-of-two from the line, but Rochester's Julianna Okoniewski hit a jumper with 1:09 left in the third to give UR a 48-47 lead.
• The Judges responded in the closing minute, with senior Joelle MarkAnthony (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan) getting a bucket on an offensive rebound and junior Hannah Nicholson (Sunderland, Vt./Burr and Burton Academy) adding a fast-break lay-up just before the buzzer to put Brandeis ahead 51-48 after three.
• Rochester came out fired up in the fourth, holding Brandeis without a basket for another seven-minute-plus stretch. The 'Jackets scored 14 unanswered points, with Okoniewski scoring eight in the run, capping it with a jumper that made it 62-51 with 6:24 to go.
• Brandeis answered with a pair of Puda free throws that got the Judges' deficit back under 10 points and represented their first points of the second half, but UR's Tessa Ludwick answered with a back-breaking 3-pointer that gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 65-53 with 3:06 to go.
• The Judges hit three 3-pointers in the final 2:12, but Rochester connected on 7-of-10 from the line to keep the hosts at bay. Rochester ended up shooting 50 percent from the field in the fourth (7-14), while holding Brandeis to 28.6 percent (4-14).

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Judges put four players in double digits in scoring for the fifth time this season, but suffered their second loss when that happened.
• Casanueva led the team with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists to tie a career-high.
• Puda finished with 15 points, thanks to two 3-pointers and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
• Nicholson recorded her first double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Burris finished with 10 points.
• UR put three starters in double digits in scoring, led by 21 points and five assists from Ludwick.
• Okoniewski had a terrific all-around game with 19 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and three blocked shots.
• Lena Ethington chipped in with 18 points, thanks to an 8-for-8 performance from the line.
• UR's Shannon Loiseau finished with six blocked shots as the Yellowjackets had 11 blocks as a team.
• Brandeis won the battle of the boards, 52-42, but Rochester balanced that with a 17-9 turnover advantage. UR was able to convert that into a 15-9 edge in points of miscues.

UP NEXT

• Brandeis closes out their home season next weekend with two more UAA contests, hosting Carnegie Mellon next Friday night at 6 p.m. and Case Western Reserve on Senior Day next Sunday at 2.