BABSON PARK, Mass. (courtesy Babson sports information)
- Senior guard Jessica Chapin (Mendon,
N.Y./Honeoye Fall-Lima) scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to
lead the nationally-ranked Brandeis University Judges to a
hard-fought 68-58 victory over host Babson College in a matchup of
regional women's basketball rivals at Babson's Staake Gymnasium on
Tuesday night. With the win, Brandeis, ranked ninth in the
D3hoops.com preseason poll, improved to 2-0, while the Beavers lost
their opener to fall to 0-1.
A preseason All-American selection by D3hoops.com, Chapin led
all players with 33 points, 10 boards, and six steals while also
dishing out two assists and blocking a shot. The Judges' senior
co-captain shot 9-for-19 from the floor and 13-for-15 from the line
while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. Her 33 points were one
short of a school record, held by Pam Vaughan '89,
while the double-double performance was the fifth of her career
Joining Chapin in double figures for Brandeis was fellow senior
co-captain Kasey Gieschen (Boonton Township,
N.J./Mountain Lakes), who netted 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting,
matching her career-high set in the season opener. Sophomore
reserve Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable)
chipped in with six points in the victory, while sophomore
Shannon Hassan (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) added
four points and six rebounds.
Sophomore Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) was outstanding in
defeat for Babson, scoring 23 points to go with six boards and five
blocked shots. First-year Sarah Collins (Weymouth, Mass.) added 10
points, six rebounds, and four blocks off the bench, and first-year
Allanah Wynn (Quincy, Mass.) contributed six points and three
assists. Sophomore Kathleen King (Framingham, Mass.) was held to
just four points on offense but did collect six rebounds, three
assists, and a team-high four steals, and senior captain Amanda
Grammel (Leominster, Mass.) added three steals and two helpers.
The two teams stayed close throughout the first half, with
Babson building five-point advantage on back-to-back lay-ups by
Wurdeman with just over a minute remaining. However, Chapin rattled
off four straight points, including a foul-line jumper with one
second left, to cut the Beavers' lead to 34-33 at the break.
Brandeis extended its run to 12-0 with eight straight points to
start the second half, as the visitors jumped out to a seven-point
lead at 41-34 with 17:34 left to play. Babson responded with a 7-0
burst over the next two minutes to pull even at 41-41, but Brandeis
scored six of the game's next eight points to go up 47-43 with
13:40 on the clock.
A three-pointer by Babson first-year Kelsey Olivere (Braintree,
Mass.) pulled Babson to within one at 47-46 with 13:22 remaining,
but the Judges' defense would hold the Beavers to just 12 points
the rest of the way, including a four-minute, 21-second draught
during which Brandeis ripped off seven straight points to make it
53-46. Babson eventually pulled to within six after a pair of free
throws by Collins at 7:42, but Chapin answered with a conventional
three-point play to push it back to nine at 59-50 with 7:24 left.
The hosts would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as
Brandeis held on for the 68-58 win.
Both teams return to action on Friday. Brandeis hosts Wentworth
in his home opener at 6 p.m., while Babson heads to Hoboken, New
Jersey to face Wesleyan at 8 p.m. in the first round of the Stevens
Institute of Technology Tip-Off Tournament.
BOX
SCORE
