Jan 13, 2017
WALTHAM, Mass. – The Brandeis women's basketball team erased a big early deficit and went ahead in the third quarter, but 16th-ranked Carnegie Mellon reclaimed the lead throughout the fourth and held off the Judges, 65-58, in a University Athletic Association contest tonight. With the loss, the Judges fall to 9-4, 1-1 UAA, while the Tartans improve to 12-1, 1-1 UAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Judges trailed 14-5 less than four minutes into the game as the visitors connected on five straight shots, including two 3-pointers, and two free throws.
- Brandeis held Carnegie Mellon scoreless for the final 6:21 of the period, with 3-pointers by Eva Hart (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan) and Frankie Pinto (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) and a late bucket by senior Paris Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) getting the home team within 14-13 after 10 minutes.
- Brandeis took its first lead on a Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) lay-up to start the second period. The Judges opened on an 11-6 run, capped by a Katie Goncalo (Fall River, Mass./Tabor Acad.) trifecta at 5:33 that gave them their biggest lead of the game at 24-20.
- The Tartans responded with a 6-0 run of their own and eventually took a 29-28 lead into the locker room.
- CMU scored the first two hoops of the second half to take a 33-28 lead, but Brandeis answered with six in a row of their own, capped by a Hodges jumper that made it 34-33, Brandeis with 6:55 to go in the third.
- The visitors' Makayala Filiere hit a 3-pointer to put them back on top by two, and her steal led to an easy bucket that made it another two-possession game.
- Brandeis responded against with a 7-1 streak, with Noel Hodges (Southampton, N.Y./Southampton) assisting Joelle MarkAnthony (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan) to put the Judges ahead, 40-39 with just under two minutes left in the third.
- Carnegie Mellon would take the lead for good with four straight free throws, as seniors Lisa Murphy and Jackie Hudepohl made it 43-40 with 1:21 to go. Jackson hit the stanza's last hoop with 1:08 left, and a late Hudepohl foul shot made it 44-42 after three.
- After a few missed shots to open the fourth quarter, Murphy hit two free throws and a Hudepohl jumper pushed the lead back to six, 48-42, with 8:02 to go.
- Still down six with 5:17 to go, the Hodges sisters connected with Noel finding Paris open for a corner three to cut the lead in half.
- Hart nailed two free throws on the next possession to make it 55-54 with 4:05 on the clock. Brandeis got a stop, but couldn't go back ahead, and Murphy hit two foul shots to push the Tartans' lead back to three.
- The Judges would get within a point on two more occasions, but each time, CMU was able to find an answer. After Hudepohl found Murphy to make it a 61-58 lead, the Judges were unable to respond, the Tartan seniors connected once again to push the lead to five with under 36 seconds on the clock before the final seven-point margin of victory.
FOR THE JUDGES
- Jackson registered her second-straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
- Paris Hodges finished with 10 points and a game-high six assists.
- Senior forward Sydney Sodine (New York, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) also scored 10 while grabbing eight rebounds.
FOR THE TARTANS
- Murphy, the UAA and NCAA leader in scoring was held relatively in check with 18 points – eight below her season average of 26.3. She was 6-10 from the field – also below her NCAA-leading 83 percent.
- Murphy's game-high 12 rebounds were just under her season average of 12.7.
- Filiere, a freshman, matched Murphy with 18 points, hitting 7-of-17 overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
- Hudepohl added 14 points, seven rebounds and team-high five assists in her first game back after missing the previous three.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brandeis held Carnegie Mellon to a season-low 38.6 percent from the field (22-57) - the Tartans entered the game shooting 46.6 percent.
- The Tartans' 65 points was 11.5 less than their season average and two shy of a season-low, but well above the Judges' UAA-best 50.8 points-per-game allowed.
- The Judges hit a season-best 75 percent from the line (15-20), but CMU was even better at 89 percent (16-18).
UP NEXT
- Brandeis will play host to Case Western Reserve University on Sunday at 2 p.m. in another UAA contest.