WALTHAM, Mass. — Brandeis University sophomore Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills West) registered her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, both career-highs, as the Judges rolled past Anna Maria College, 65-38, in a non-conference women's basketball contest in Red Auerbach Arena tonight.
With the win, Brandeis improves to 5-1 for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The AMCats even their record at 3-3. The meeting was the first between the two schools since 1987.
Sodine led all players in scoring and rebounding, scoring 11 of her 15 points and grabbing six rebounds in the second half. Six of her rebounds came on the offensive glass. She was one of three Brandeis players to score in double digits. Sophomore center Maria Jackson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) had 12 points, eight of which were in the first half. Jackson hit 6-of-8 from the field. Junior guard Niki Laskaris (Swampscott, Mass./Swampscott) added 10 points. She also had career-bests of seven rebounds and five assists – also a game-high. Rookie forward Olivia Shaw (Saco, Maine/Thorton Acad.) had a terrific all-around game with eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Anna Maria was paced by sophomore Deja Taitt (Cambia Heights, N.Y./Mary Louis), who scored all of her team-high 13 points in the first half. Taitt hit 6-of-8 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, but was 0-for-7 after the break. Tait also led the team with three assists. Seniors Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass./Burncoat) and Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass./Northbridge) each had nine rebounds and six points for the visitors.
AMC raced out to a 12-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest on a Taitt jumper. The visitors hit six of their first 10 shots and grabbed seven of the first eight rebounds in the game. After the Judges called timeout, they responded by holding the AMCats to just two baskets over the next eight-and-a-half minutes, going on a 22-4 run. Brandeis took its first lead at the 9:09 mark on a Laskaris jumper. A Jackson lay-up capped the run that made it 24-16 with 6:29 to go before the intermission. AMC didn't allow the Judges to pull away, staying within two possessions at 32-26 at the break.
After Anna Maria's Lindsay Bond (Webster, Mass./Bartlett) scored the first hoop of the second half, Brandeis held the visitors in check, allowing just one more field goal in the next 10 minutes. The Judges extended their lead to double figures on a fast-break bucket by Laskaris at 17:37 and never looked back, with their final 27-point margin of victory matching their largest lead of the game.
Brandeis returns to action on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Johnson and Wales, while Anna Maria heads to Trinity College at the same time.