Women drop Invitational title game to Maine Maritime, 67-59

Two Brandeis basketball players being presented with plaques for their All-Tournament performance.
All-Tournament selections Katherine Vaughan and Tathiana Pierre were presented their awards by Anya Wright-Senn of the Park Lodge Hotel Group. (Photos by Baogen Chen '25)

WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore forward Caitlin Gresko (Howell, N.J. / Howell) finished with a team-high 13 points, 6-9 from the field as women's basketball fell short in the Brandeis Judges Invitational Championship game, 67-59, to Maine Maritime.

TEAM RECORDS

Brandeis: 1-2

Maine Maritime: 2-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

·        The Judges started going shot-for-shot with the Mariners for the first four minutes of play, but finished the opening quarter down, 27-17.

·        The Mariners shot 80% from three in the first, to which the Judges noted going into the second quarter.

·        Brandeis's defensive efforts came up big, keeping Maine Maritime to just 14.3% from three in the second quarter.

·        Senior captain Francesca Marchese (Staten Island, N.Y. / Staten Island Academy) added 6 points in the second quarter, going 2-3 from behind the arc.

·        The Judges ended the first half down, 41-31, with Gresko scoring 7 of her 13 total points.

·        Junior guard Lauren Cook, first-year guard Grace Huntwork and graduate Lauren Plissey for the Mariners each ended the half in double-digits.

·        The Judges came out of the locker room strong to start the second half, outscoring the Mariners, 13-11, in the third quarter.

·        Gresko and first-year forward Katherine Vaughan (Bedford, Mass. / Bedford) combined for 8 of the 13 points for the Judges in the third.

·        Marchese dropped in a clutch three that brought the Judges within five points, 52-47, with 8:46 left in the game.

·        Maine Maritime put together a massive team-effort in the final quarter, with their entire starting line-up recording a bucket each as they pulled away, leading by as many as 17 before the final 8-point margin of victory.

·        Brandeis shot 66.7% from three in the fourth, but it was not enough to slow down the Tournament MVP, Lauren Plissey, from Maine Maritime who finished the game with a team-high 18 points, shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

·        Ten players recorded points for the Judges, as Gresko, Marchese and Vaughan led the team with 13, 9 and 8 respectively.

·        Overall, Brandeis shot 33.3% from the field, compared to 42.1% from the Mariners.

·         The Judges lost the battle on the boards, 47-32.

·        Brandeis got to the stripe 29 times but could only net 15 of the attempts, compared to the Mariners shooting 13-20.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

·        Marchese is now at 95 career 3-pointers, 5 away from being Brandeis' ninth player with 100 in their career.

·        Vaughan along with senior guard Tathiana Pierre (Jericho, NY / Sacred Heart Academy) were awarded All-Tournament team awards.

·        The All-Tournament team consisted of Rebecca Oberman-Levine from Conn. College, Ashlyn O'Neil from RPI and Holly Reeder-Morning from Maine Maritime in addition to the two Brandeis stars.

CONSOLATION GAME

·        In the consolation game, Conn. College defeated RPI, 52-43.

UP NEXT

·        The Judges take on Emerson University at 7:00pm on Tuesday at home.

·        The Mariners next matchup is Smith College at the Bowdoin Invitational on Nov. 18 in Brunswick, ME. 

-- by Brendan Moser, sports information intern