WALTHAM, MA- The University of Rochester women's basketball team couldn't find their shooting touch and Brandeis University pulled a big upset on Sunday, winning 62-49 in a UAA conference matchup.
The Judges (8-12, 2-7 UAA) snapped a seven-game losing streak while Rochester's seven game winning streak came to an end. UR shot just 27% from the field while Brandeis was comfortable in its home gym, shooting 43%.
Rochester (15-5, 7-2 UAA) started out cold from the get go, starting 1-9 from the floor, while the Judges were 7 for 13 to start, building a 15-6 lead early on.
An 11-2 run tied the score at 17 for UR, and a Paige Aleski 3-pointer gave the Yellowjackets their first lead with just five minutes left in the first half. The trey was just one of three that the Yellowjackets made on the day. They would finish 3-23 (13%) on the day, brining their weekend total to 4-40 from behind the arc.
At the half, the score would be tied at 25. Free throws allowed Rochester to stay close, at the visitors held a 10-2 advantage at the charity stripe in the first period.
Early in the second half, Brandeis' solid shooting allowed its lead to reach seven. With 15 minutes left, Samantha Mancinelli hit a long two and a 3-pointer to push the score to 39-32 in favor of the home squad.
Strong inside play from Katie Weiner, Loren Wagner and Amy Woods allowed UR to try to get back into it, cutting the lead to four at 44-40 with 8:17 remaining. Wiener ended with a career high seven points while Wagner had nine points and 10 boards. Woods added seven points and 11 rebounds.
Brandeis then used an 11-2 run to build the lead back up to a game high 13 with just 2:52 left on the clock. The Judges would make their free throws at the end of the game to keep the score at the eventual winning margin of 13.
Rebounding and second chance points played a big part in the outcome, with Brandeis scoring 22 second chance points on 15 offensive rebounds for the game. UR outrebound Brandeis in the second half to hold the game edge 44-41, but Rochester couldn't convert the extra chances, only finishing with 10 second chance points on 22 offensive boards.
Rochester committed 19 turnovers on the day which led to Brandeis scoring 21 points. The Judges also held the edge in bench scoring, 22-10. The win exacts some revenge for Brandeis as they return the favor from last weekend when Rochester upended the Judges 72-58.
Breanna Madrazo was the leading scorer for the Yellowjackets scoring 11 points while Janelle Rodriguez had 13 points and four rebounds and Kasey Dean added 10 points and six boards to lead the Judges.
Rochester's road trip continues next weekend when they travel to Chicago on Friday and Washington-St. Louis on Sunday. Brandeis travels to Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve next weekend.