The Judges (2-0) played tremendous defense against the Pride, holding the visitors to just 32.6% shooting from the field (14-43) and forcing 23 turnovers. Brandeis also owned a 37-29 edge in rebounding, including 15-8 on the offensive glass. The Judges' reserves were also outstanding, outscoring the Pride by a 26-9 margin.
The leading scorer today was junior guard Kasey Dean (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug), who had 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers. Dean was also one of three Brandeis players with three steals. Senior forward Erika Higginbottom (Millbury, Mass./Worcester Acad.) added nine points to lead the bench players, while also tying for game-high honors with five assists. Senior forward Samantha Anderson (Johnsonville, N.Y./Hoosic Valley) and rookie guard Niki Laskaris (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) each added eight points, with Laskaris's career-high coming off the bench. Sophomore Mikaela Garvin (Providence, R.I/Hope) added seven points in reserve. Cain scored only one point in the title contest, but she grabbed six rebounds to lead the Judges and also matched Higginbottom with five assists.
Springfield (1-1) junior Tamara Tribble (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) matched Dean for game-high honors with 10 points, hitting on 5-of-6 from the field, but she was the only Pride player with more than two field goals. Seniors Meghan Biondolillo (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) and Emily Walker (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme) each had seven points for the visitors, with Walker grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.
In the earlier consolation game, Trinity College (1-1) defeated Mitchell College (0-3), 85-39. Four different Bantam players scored in double figures, led by 14 points from junior Moriah Sweeney (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey). The other three players to reach 10 points were all rookies who off the bench. Christina Raiti (PLanview, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) and Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) – Hannah's younger sister – each had 13, while Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic) had a fantastic game from the line, hitting 10-of-11 to finish with 12 points. Junior forward Shantel Hanniford (Nantucket, Mass./Nantucket) had eight rebounds to lead Trinity, while Raiti's four assists were game-high. The Bantams dominated the boards, 48-29, with 26 of Trinity's boards on the offensive end.
Mitchell's leading scorer was Kaylee Cerutto (Torrington, Conn./Torrington), who had 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-3 from deep and 4-of-5 from the line. She also had three assists. Rookie Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
In addition to Hannah Cain as the MVP, the All-Tournament team consisted of Brandeis's Samantha Anderson; Amanda Garcia from Mitchell; Christina Raiti from Trinity; Andrea Moschetta and Tamara Tribble of Springfield.
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