WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team led visiting University Rochester by 10 points with 2:09 to play, but the Yellowjackets' pressure allowed them to close the game on a 17-4 run and escape with a 67-64 University Athletic Association victory.

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis: 11-3, 1-2 UAA.
• Rochester: 8-6, 1-2 UAA.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brandeis got off to a sluggish offensive start, falling behind 16-8 after the first quarter. The Judges hit just 5-of-15 from the field, while Rochester made 6-of-15 with two 3-pointers.
• The Judges responded in the second as senior Abby Kennedy (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) caught fire to the tune of 15 points, five more than the entire Rochester roster. She connected on 5-of-7 in the stanza, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
• UR was within a point at 24-23 with 3:17 left in the half, but the Judges closed on an 11-3 run, with Kennedy accounting for nine of those points. Her buzzer-beating trifecta helped the Judges to a 35-26 lead at halftime.
• Brandeis held the Yellowjackets to just 4-of-13 shooting in the second period as they outscored the visitors, 24-10.
• The Judges extended their lead to as many as 16 points in the third quarter, going ahead 47-31 on a put-back by senior Katherine Vaughan (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) with 3:10 on the clock.
• UR scored six of the last eight points of the period to get within 49-37 entering the last 10 minutes.
• The Judges kept the Yellowjackets at bay for the first eight minutes of the fourth. Kennedy hit two of four free throws after a Rochester technical foul and a personal on the floor with 2:09 to go, putting the home team ahead by a 60-50 score.
• Rochester missed a pair of foul shot on their next possession, but turned up their full-court pressure.
• Over the final two minutes, they forced six Brandeis turnovers and converted on all six of their field goal attempts from the floor.
• Down six after a pair of Vaughan free throws with 30 seconds to go, Grace Correlli buried a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 64-61 with 23 second to go.
• The Judges missed a pair of foul shots on the other end, and Rochester's Franki Gomez hit a driving lay-up on the next possession to get the visitors with 64-63. As the 'Jackets' defense prevented an in-bounds pass, the Brandeis bench tried to call a timeout they did not have.
• Gomez hit the ensuing free throws to take a one-point lead, and Correlli added two more to push the lead to 67-64. Brandeis junior Sophia Berisha (Old Tappan, N.J./Winchendon School) shot an off-target 3-pointer as time expired to give the visitors the comeback win as they closed on a 17-4 run.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

•  Kennedy's big second quarter helped her finish with a game-high 26 points. She hit 9-of-21 from the field, 5-of-10 from 3-point range and 3-of-6 from the line.
• Vaughan added 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season and the seventh of her career.
• Berisha led all players with four assists while scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds.
• The Judges owned a 37-36 edge on the boards, including 11-7 on the offensive glass that led to a 12-5 advantage in second-chance points.
• Rochester put four starters in double figures in scoring, with Correlli netting 11 of her 14 in the fourth quarter. Gomez added 12 points, while Tia Poulakidas and Claire Groenewoud each scored 11.
• Pouliakidas had six rebounds to lead the visitors, while Melis Alparsian had four steals.
• While Brandeis committed two fewer turnovers, 20-18, Rochester converted theirs into a 21-10 scoring advantage, including 12-1 in the fourth quarter. The 'Jackets also outscored Brandeis, 13-10, from the line, as Brandeis hit just 50% (10-12) compared to UR's 77% (13-17).
• The win was #600 in the career of Rochester head coach Jim Scheible.

UP NEXT

• The Judges hit the road for their next two UAA contests, starting next Friday evening at #18-ranked University of Chicago at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 Eastern).