CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Brandeis University women's basketball team came up just short for the second-straight game on the road, dropping a University Athletic Association contest at Case Western Reserve today, 72-69. 

TEAM RECORDS

• Brandeis, 12-8, 2-7 UAA.
• Case Western Reserve, 9-11, 2-7 UAA.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first period was a close affair, with neither team leading by more than two possessions. 
• The first three buckets of the game were 3-pointers, two for the Judges. After senior Abby Kennedy (Half Moon Bay, Calif./Half Moon Bay) hit a jumper, Brandeis had the biggest lead of the stanza at 8-3. 
• The Judges were still ahead, 12-10, after a lay-up by senior Maya Willams (Redondo Beach, Calif./Redondo Union) at the 4:07 mark, but Case closed the period on a 6-2 run to take a 16-14 lead after one. 
• The Spartans scored four of the first five points of the second quarter and seven of the first 10 to take their largest lead, 23-17, on a Mya Hartjes 3-pointer just over three minutes in. 
• The lead was still six at 27-21, Case, with just over five minutes to go before the half after the teams traded buckets on the next four possessions. 
• Brandeis junior Claire Candela (Maynard, Mass./Milton Academy) buried an open corner 3-pointer on the next Judges' possession, sparking a 13-2 run, as the held CWRU without a field goal for more than four minutes.
• Junior Sofia Berisha (Old Tappan, N.J./Winchendon School) scored six points in the run, turning a three-point deficit into a three-point lead. She would hit a bucket on the last possession of the half to give Brandeis a 36-31 lead at the break.
• Sophomore Saviah Shabazz (Plano, Texas/Plano West) opened the second half with a 3-pointer, sparking a 16-4 run over the first five minutes to take their largest lead of the game after senior Molly James (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) hit a couple of free throws to make it 52-35.
• CWRU answered with a 3-pointer on their next possession - their only bench points of the game - and they held Brandeis without a field goal the rest of the period to climb to within eight points at 53-48 headed into the fourth quarter.
• The Judges were able to hold off the Spartans, going up 69-58 when Shabazz converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:54 to play. 
• Unfortunately, those were the last points the Judges would score, as CWRU held them to just 0-2 from the floor with three turnovers over the final stretch of the game, scoring the last 14 points.
• The Spartans' Maura Schorr scored the game's final four points, including the game-winning bucket with 24 seconds to go. She also blocked Brandeis' final 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Judges fell despite a terrific showing from their bench, which outscored the Spartans, 23-3. Berisha led the way with 10 points and a game- and career-high eight assists. Williams added six points to the bench total.
• Kennedy was Brandeis's leading scorer with 18 points, while Candela finished with 12 points by hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers. 
• Grad student Elena Delicado (Madrid, Spain/IES Parque de Lisboa) led the Judges with eight rebounds.
• Schorr stuffed the stat sheet for CWRU, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals, all game-highs. 
• The Spartans had a key edge in points off turnovers, converting 13 Brandeis miscues into 15 points, while Brandeis had 10 points off eight CWRU turnovers. In the fourth quarter, it was a 7-0 advantage for the hosts.

UP NEXT

• The Judges continue a four-game road trip next Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. at Emory University.