NORTON, Mass. – The Brandeis University women's basketball team faced a halftime deficit for only the second time this season, trailing by six, but the Judges outscored host Wheaton College, 52-24, after the intermission to defeat the Lyons, 78-56. With the win, the Judges closed out their most successful non-conference slate since 2008-09.
TEAM RECORDS
- Brandeis, 10-1.
- Wheaton, 3-9.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In this tale of two halves, the Lyons held a 20-19 edge after one quarter and extended it to as many as eight points in the second as they took a 32-26 lead into the locker room.
- The Lyons shot 54% (13-24) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including 50% from 3-point range (5-10), while holding Brandeis to 36% overall (11-31) and 17% from deep (1-6).
- Wheaton's duo of Cheyenne Colbert and Mary Claire McClintock each scored 11 points in the half, while Brandeis senior Abby Kennedy (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) scored seven for the visitors.
- The Judges turned the tables on the Lyons in the third quarter, outshooting the home team 67% (12-18) to 36% (4-11) and outscoring them, 29-11.
- After Colbert hit the opening bucket of the third to put the Lyons back up by eight, Brandeis went on an 11-2 run. The Judges took their first lead of the game since 2-1 when junior Claire Candela (Maynard, Mass./Milton Acad.) nailed a 3-pointer at the 7:06 mark that made it 37-36.
- McClintock answered with a trifecta of her own to put Wheaton back ahead, 38-37, but Brandeis outscored Wheaton, 18-5 the rest of the way to take a 55-43 lead into the fourth quarter.
- Kennedy helped the Judges to that double-digit lead, nearly outscoring the Lyons on her own with 10 points in the stanza.
- Brandeis never trailed by more than 13 points in the fourth as they rolled to their 10th-straight victory over Wheaton.
- In addition to shooting 57% in the second half, Brandeis also had a 10-2 turnover advantage that they converted into 15 points to just one for Wheaton.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kennedy led all players with 24 points, 17 coming in the second half. She shot 9-21 overall, 2-8 from 3-point range and 4-4 from the line.
- It was Kennedy's sixth 20-point game in 10 contests this season.
- The rest of the Judges put together a balanced offensive attack, with seven different players scoring between six and eight points.
- Senior Katherine Vaughan (Bedford, Mass./Bedford) had eight points and seven rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. She also blocked two shots. Classmate Brooke Reed (Chantilly, Va./Westfield) led the Judges to a 40-30 rebounding advantage with eight boards, four offensive, while scoring six points.
- Sophomore Saviah Shabazz (Plano, Texas/Plano West) had seven points, two assists and three steals, while classmate Jazzy Perez (Johns Creek, Ga./Centennial) also had three thefts to go with six points.
- Brandeis dominated the turnover game, 20-10, to the tune of 22-8 points off those miscues. They also outscored Wheaton, 46-24, in the paint and 15-6 in second-chance points.
- McClintock finished with 18 points for the Lyons, including a perfect 5-5 from 3-point range. Colbert added 14 points. Regan Keyter had six points, and game-highs of nine rebounds and seven assists.
UP NEXT
- The Judges will open up University Athletic Association play on Saturday at 3 p.m. when they play host to top-ranked and two-time defending NCAA Division III Champions NYU.