ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Brandeis women's basketball team trailed
by as many as 20 points to the host University of Rochester with
just under 15 minutes left in regulation, but the combination of
junior Amber Strodthoff (DePere, Wisc./DePere) and
senior Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye
Falls-Lima) turned in fantastic second halves and the Judge defense
stepped up, holding the Yellowjackets without a field goal for 14
minutes, as the Judges rallied for a 67-65 University Athletic
Association (UAA) victory at the Palestra tonight. The win improves
Brandeis to 14-8, 7-5 in the UAA, while Rochester falls to 17-6,
7-5, as the squads are tied for third in the conference.
The Judges fell behind 10-2 early in the contest and were behind
by 18, 43-25, at the break. Rochester's Jodie Luther (Gibsonia,
Pa./Hampton) had 15 first-half points, while Brandeis sophomore
Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass./Barnstable) kept the
Judges within sight of the Yellowjackets with 12 points, as she hit
5-of-6 from the floor and two free throws. UR connected on 49
percent overall in the first (17-35), including 6-of-12 from beyond
the arc. The hosts also had 14 assists and six turnovers, compared
to just five helpers and 10 miscues by the Judges.
Brandeis looked to get back in the game in the early parts of
the second half, as senior Kasey Gieschen (Boonton
Township, N.J./Mountain Lakes) connected on her first career
3-pointer to start the stanza and then hit a free throw to get the
visitors within 14, 43-29. The 'Jackets responded with
back-to-back 3-pointers by junior Melissa Alwardt (Greece,
N.Y./Greece Athena), taking their largest lead of the game, 49-29,
with 18:01 left in the contest.
On the Judges' next possession, Gieschen got to the line again,
and hit one of two, cutting the lead to 49-30. At that point,
Chapin entered the game for the first time, and made an immediate
impact with a 3-pointer on her first shot. UR answered with a foul
shot and a trifecta by Jessica Mastronardi (Kendall Park, N.J./So.
Brunswick) to go back ahead, 53-33, with 14:41 remaining.
At that point, the Brandeis defense stiffened, holding Rochester
without a field goal for more than 14 minutes until 13 seconds
remained in the contest. The Judges were able to keep the hosts out
of the paint, forcing UR to take just six of their 19 shots from
inside the arc in the second half. Meanwhile, on the offensive end,
Brandeis was connecting on 8-of-11 over a 10-minute span that was
part of a 24-4 run. Strodhoff had nine points in the stretch,
including her second 3-pointer of the season that got the deficit
down to three points at 53-50,while her put-back at the 6:03 mark
tied the game for the first time since the opening tap.
The Yellowjackets scored the game's next two points from the
free-throw line, but a Kendrew trifecta with 5:23 gave the Judges
their first lead of the contest, 57-56. Alwardt answered with a
pair of free throws to reclaim the lead at the 5:02 mark, but the
teams went two minutes without scoring before a pair of Strodthoff
foul shots gave the Judges the 59-58 lead at the 3:04 mark. Kate
Agan (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Notre Dame) hit one of two for the
Yellowjackets to knot the game, but Strodthoff answered again on a
post-to-post feed from rookie Shannon Ingram
(Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) with 1:52 on the
clock.
The Judges' defense was intense on the next three Rochester
possessions, forcing three turnovers, including a pair of
shot-clock violations before junior Diana Cincotta
(Plymouth, Mass./W. Boylston) hit a pair of free throws with 25
seconds left to make it a two-possession game, 62-59, with 25
seconds left on the clock. Alwardt answered from the charity
stripe, but Kendrew and Cincotta also connected for two from the
line before Alwardt's buzzer beater made the final two-point
margin.
Kendrew ended up with a game-high 17 points thanks to her big
half, while Strodhoff had 13 of her 15 points in the second half,
when she connected on 5-of-7 overall with the big trifecta and two
free throws. Sophomore Shannon Hassan (Merrimack,
N.H./Merrimack) had 10 points to tie a career-high, six coming in
the second half. Chapin, who played just 18 second-half minutes,
finished with nine points, all coming during the comeback. Hassan
also had a team-high five rebounds, three on the offensive glass.
The Judges turned the tide in the backcourt in the second half, as
they had seven assists and just four turnovers, while forcing 11 UR
miscues and allowing just four assists. After hitting just one of
their five 3-pointers in the first, they connected on 5-of-7 from
downtown in the second, while holding Rochester to just 3-of-13
from beyond the arc after the intermission. Brandeis earned its
first season-sweep of UR since 2005-06.
Three Rochester players scored in double figures, as Alwardt and
Luther had 15 each. Twelve of Alwardt's points came in the second
half, while Luther was kept off the board after the intermission.
Mastronardi also finished with 10 points. Alwardt also had a
game-high five assists. The 'Jackets owned a 34-28 rebounding
margin, with Agan and Amy Woods (Bala Cynwyd, Pa./Lower Merion)
each corralling six boards. The loss was Rochester's first at home
after winning their first 10 of the season in the Palestra.
The Judges will try to avenge one of their earlier UAA losses on
Sunday afternoon at Emory University at 2 p.m.
BOX
SCORE
