Spring Break
Women's basketball suffers winless road trip
by Julie Ganz
Sports editor
Sports | 2/12/08
Posted online at 9:37 PM EST on 2/25/08
/ Last updated at 11:43 AM EST on 2/25/08
When the women's basketball team embarked on last weekend's road trip against Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Chicago, it did so as a first-place team in the University Athletic Association. Now, after two losses, the Judges find themselves squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
In yet another instance of not being able to hold onto a first-half lead, the Judges let last Sunday's game at Chicago slip away during the second half, eventually losing 62-55. The loss, which followed a 74-56 defeat at No. 23 Wash U last Friday, dropped Brandeis to 17-7 and 8-5 in the UAA, with just a home game Saturday against New York University left in the regular season.
If the Judges defeat NYU, they would match last season's 9-5 mark in the UAA, which was good enough to earn an at-large bid to last year's the NCAA Tournament. But while last year's squad, did not suffer any non-conference losses, this year's team dropped games to Kenyon College Nov. 17 and Tufts University Nov. 25. Still, the Judges have a chance at a berth thanks to their strength of schedule, as their opponents' winning percentage of .622 ranks sixth among NCAA hopefuls, according to D3hoops.com.
"We still have a chance to make NCAA's," forward Lauren Orlando '09 said. "It comes down to Saturday afternoon when we play, and I think everyone's going to be determined to win and try to get the bid."
Last Sunday's loss to Chicago was the third time the Judges lost when leading at halftime in conference play, as it also happened in defeats against NYU Jan. 12 and Emory University Feb. 8. After the Maroons jumped ahead 8-2 in the first four minutes of the first half, a 13-point run by the Judges gave them a seven-point lead with over 10 minutes left in the period. Reserve guard Lauren Rashford '10, Carmela Breslin '10 and Courtney Tremblay '08 combined for 10 points off the bench during the stretch.
The Maroons countered the attack with an eight-point run of their own, capped by senior guard Nofi Mojidi's layup with five minutes, 57 seconds left in the first half, giving them a 16-15 lead. Mojidi finished with a game-high 14 points.
In yet another instance of not being able to hold onto a first-half lead, the Judges let last Sunday's game at Chicago slip away during the second half, eventually losing 62-55. The loss, which followed a 74-56 defeat at No. 23 Wash U last Friday, dropped Brandeis to 17-7 and 8-5 in the UAA, with just a home game Saturday against New York University left in the regular season.
If the Judges defeat NYU, they would match last season's 9-5 mark in the UAA, which was good enough to earn an at-large bid to last year's the NCAA Tournament. But while last year's squad, did not suffer any non-conference losses, this year's team dropped games to Kenyon College Nov. 17 and Tufts University Nov. 25. Still, the Judges have a chance at a berth thanks to their strength of schedule, as their opponents' winning percentage of .622 ranks sixth among NCAA hopefuls, according to D3hoops.com.
"We still have a chance to make NCAA's," forward Lauren Orlando '09 said. "It comes down to Saturday afternoon when we play, and I think everyone's going to be determined to win and try to get the bid."
Last Sunday's loss to Chicago was the third time the Judges lost when leading at halftime in conference play, as it also happened in defeats against NYU Jan. 12 and Emory University Feb. 8. After the Maroons jumped ahead 8-2 in the first four minutes of the first half, a 13-point run by the Judges gave them a seven-point lead with over 10 minutes left in the period. Reserve guard Lauren Rashford '10, Carmela Breslin '10 and Courtney Tremblay '08 combined for 10 points off the bench during the stretch.
The Maroons countered the attack with an eight-point run of their own, capped by senior guard Nofi Mojidi's layup with five minutes, 57 seconds left in the first half, giving them a 16-15 lead. Mojidi finished with a game-high 14 points.
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