Spring Break
WBBALL: Brandeis drops fourth in five games and slips in standings
by Melissa Siegel
Staff writer
Sports | 2/10/09
Posted online at 3:35 AM EST on 2/10/09
With 9 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first half of the then-No. 24 Brandeis women's basketball team's game at then-No. 17 Washington University, the Judges found themselves tied with the Bears after having led by as many as nine points earlier in the contest.
The Judges then called a 30-second timeout in hopes of producing a solid possession, but on the ensuing play WashU junior forward Janice Evans stole the ball from Judges' guard Diana Cincotta '11 and scored a fast-break layup on the other end to give the Bears a 17-15 lead, their first of the contest.
WashU never trailed again and went on to win 71-56. This loss, coupled with the Judges' 63-50 loss at the University of Chicago last Friday night, dropped the Judges to 13-6 and 3-6 in the University Athletic Association.
The Judges have now lost four of their last five games, and their hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season are dwindling. Brandeis dropped out of the latest d3hoops.com top-25 poll.
The Judges were without starting point guard Lauren Rashford '10 last weekend, who may miss the rest of the season after possibly tearing her ACL according to Coach Carol Simon (see sidebar, right).
"When you lose a starting point guard it's always a blow to the team emotionally, obviously," Simon said. "She's been leading the team, but we know as a team we need to step up. We control what we can control, and that's each player taking up minutes for her and doing what they need to do."
The Cincotta turnover was one of 18 for Brandeis. The Bears scored 27 points off the 18 Brandeis turnovers, while the Judges could only muster four points off nine WashU turnovers. WashU also had a 29-13 advantage in bench points.
"We had 18 turnovers, which against good teams is a little higher obviously than we want," Simon said. "We're trying to keep it under 14, but it's where those turnovers came [that hurt us]; a lot of them led to easy layups. "
The Judges then called a 30-second timeout in hopes of producing a solid possession, but on the ensuing play WashU junior forward Janice Evans stole the ball from Judges' guard Diana Cincotta '11 and scored a fast-break layup on the other end to give the Bears a 17-15 lead, their first of the contest.
WashU never trailed again and went on to win 71-56. This loss, coupled with the Judges' 63-50 loss at the University of Chicago last Friday night, dropped the Judges to 13-6 and 3-6 in the University Athletic Association.
The Judges have now lost four of their last five games, and their hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season are dwindling. Brandeis dropped out of the latest d3hoops.com top-25 poll.
The Judges were without starting point guard Lauren Rashford '10 last weekend, who may miss the rest of the season after possibly tearing her ACL according to Coach Carol Simon (see sidebar, right).
"When you lose a starting point guard it's always a blow to the team emotionally, obviously," Simon said. "She's been leading the team, but we know as a team we need to step up. We control what we can control, and that's each player taking up minutes for her and doing what they need to do."
The Cincotta turnover was one of 18 for Brandeis. The Bears scored 27 points off the 18 Brandeis turnovers, while the Judges could only muster four points off nine WashU turnovers. WashU also had a 29-13 advantage in bench points.
"We had 18 turnovers, which against good teams is a little higher obviously than we want," Simon said. "We're trying to keep it under 14, but it's where those turnovers came [that hurt us]; a lot of them led to easy layups. "
Be the first to comment on this story