Katie Titus scored a career-high 39 points, two shy of the single-game program record, as the University of Rochester women's basketball came from behind to defeat the Brandeis University Judges, 81-70, on Friday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
The Judges led by as many as 13 in the early going, as Rochester struggled to find their range in the opening period. The 'Jackets shot just 27.3 percent in the first quarter, and 0-for-7 from three, as a 12-0 Brandeis run gave the Judges a 17-4 lead with 4:49 to play in the first.
But the Yellowjackets answered with a run of their own, scoring the next seven on layups by Kelsey Stites and Titus, pulling within six, 17-11, with 2:21 left in the first.
Selenya Gonzalez knocked down a three, Brandeis' third of the quarter, putting the Judges back up nine, but Raquel Williams went 1-for-2 at the line and Maura Leverone scored a driving layup on UR's final possession of the quarter, cutting the Judges' lead back to six, 20-14, headed to the second.
Abby Kennedy would single-handedly make it a double-digit lead once again for Brandies, scoring seven of the first nine points of the second quarter. And down 27-16, the 'Jackets traded buckets with the Judges over the next six possessions, with Francesca Marchese's three giving Brandeis a 34-22 lead with 6:22 until the halftime buzzer.
Down by 12, Rochester clamped down on defense, and held Brandeis without a bucket for nearly three and a half minutes, while offensively, UR went on an 11-0 to pull within a bucket.
Gress started the run with a jumper, and then Titus and Sestric started to get hot, with the two combining for the next nine Rochester points, with Titus' three-point play capping off the 11-0 run.
Five-straight from Caitlin Gresko brought Brandeis' lead back out to six, but Titus scored UR's last seven points of the quarter, sinking her first and UR's first triple of the night with 28 seconds left, to cut the Judges' lead down to just one, 41-40, heading into the locker room.
Titus kept things rolling to start the third, as she and Tathiana Pierre traded triples to start the second half. Emma Reavis would extend Brandeis' lead to four with another three, but Rochester would hold the Judges to just two field goals the rest of the period.
Again Rochester's defense clamped down, while the 'Jackets doubled up Brandeis in the third quarter, taking the lead with a 17-4 run to end the period and outscoring the Judges, 20-10 in the third.
Callie McCulley got things going with a free throw and layup before Leverone and Stites added a pair to give UR its first lead of the night, 50-49 with 6:38 left in the third.
Brandeis quickly retook the lead on Reavis' pull-up, but that'd be the last point Brandeis would score till the 8:54 mark of the fourth.
Stites hit two free throws to put UR back up one, and after a nearly two-minute scoreless stretch, McCulley found Titus down low to make it a three-point lead. Sestric then added two free throws and Titus hit another three before McCulley went 1-for-2 at the line to give the 'Jackets a 60-51 lead heading to the fourth.
Titus' kept things rolling with four of UR's first five points to start the final quarter, as the 'Jackets stretched their lead out to 15, following layups by McCulley and Titus.
Gresko and Gonzalez brought Brandeis back within 10, but a 7-0 run over the next 2:28, brought Rochester's lead out to its largest of the game, 76-59, with 2:04 to play.
Three late three-pointers by the Judges kept things close, but Sestric went 3-for-4 at the line in the final minute to help seal the 81-70 victory for UR.
Rochester moves to 16-7 (6-6 UAA) with the win, while Brandies drops to 6-17 (1-11 UAA) with the loss.
Titus led Rochester with a career-high 39 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks. McCulley and Sestric each scored nine, with McCulley adding six rebounds, five assists, five blocks and a steal.
As a team, Rochester shot 44.6 percent, and 53.5 percent after the opening period, while shooting 20-for-29 from the free-throw line. Brandies shot 53.3 percent in the first quarter, but just 38.6 percent for the game, as the 'Jackets held the Judges to 28.2 percent (11-for-39) in the second half.
The Yellowjackets also dominated Brandeis, 48-28 in the paint, and outrebounded the Judges, 48-37.
Rochester will look to keep on rolling and pull off an upset when they next welcome 6th-ranked New York University to the Palestra on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m.