ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team got off to a hot start, but couldn't hold off a terrific offensive performance from the University of Rochester's Katie Titus, who finished with 39 points, as the Yellowjackets escaped with an 81-70 University Athletic Association victory tonight in the Palestra.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 6-17, 1-11 UAA.
• Rochester, 16-7, 6-6 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Judges hit 7 of their first 8 shots while holding Rochester to 2 of 10, as Brandeis jumped out to a 17-4 lead after a three-point play by senior Emma Reavis (Miami, Okla./Deerfield Academy) with 4:49 to go.
• Rochester closed the period on a 10-4 run as Maura Leverone's lay-up with 23 seconds left made it 20-14. Brandeis ended up shooting 53.3 percent from the field, compared to 27.3 for UR in the first.
• The hosts got back into the game in the second period by shooting 55.6 percent. The Judges never gave up their lead in the half, maintaining a 41-40 lead at the break.
• UR's Titus hit a 3-pointer to close out the period, giving her 18 points in the period and 23 in the first half. Brandeis sophomore Caitlin Gresko (Howell, N.J./Howell) netted 15 at the break.
• In the second half, the teams traded buckets in the early going, with UR taking its first lead on a steal and lay-up by Kelsey Stites that gave her team a 50-49 lead with 6:38 to go.
• Brandeis's Reavis answered with a pull-up jumper, but two Stites free throws put the lead back in the 'Jackets' hands. Rochester scored the period's last 10 points to take a 60-51 lead after three.
• Titus scored the first bucket of the fourth period to establish a 10-point lead, and the Judges could not climb back from there.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Gresko netted 19 points, her 12^th double-digit scoring game of the season. She also led the team with seven rebounds.
• Reavis added 12 points and had six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
• Three other Brandeis players contributed eight points: grad student Shannon Smally (Foxborough, Mass./Foxborough) and seniors Francesca Marchese (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island) and Tathiana Pierre (Jericho, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy).
• Titus was the story of the game for Rochester, as she finished with 39 points, five shy of a UAA record. She hit 15-of-25 from the field, one bucket shy of the league record. Titus was 3-of-10 from beyond the arc and 6-of-9 from the line. She also pulled down seven rebounds and had three assists and three blocked shots.
• Abby Gress led all players with 10 rebounds, while UR's Callie McAuley stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and five blocked shots.
• The Judges hit a season-high 12 3-pointers, compared to just 3 for Rochester, but the difference was offset by the Yellowjackets' 20-4 edge in scoring from the free-throw line.
• UR also had a 48-37 rebounding edge.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Brandeis and Rochester have split the season series in the last four seasons and six of the last seven.

UP NEXT

• The Judges head to Emory University on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.