For Immediate Release
November 24, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Basketball Falls to Brandeis
WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The visiting Brandeis Judges held off a furious second comeback from Wellesley College tonight to down the Blue, 64-52, at Keohane Sports Center. The win lifts the Judges to 5-0. Wellesley drops to 1-3.
The Blue got on the board first with a baseline drive from Becca Kimball (Weston, Mass), but Brandeis tied the score with a steal and layup from Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y.). The Judges quickly built a five-point edge with back-to-back buckets from Morgan Kendrew (Cotuit, Mass.), including a three-pointer from the top of the key. Wellesley answered with two from Ashleigh Sargent (Bedford, Mass.), but the Judges surged ahead with four straight points for an 11-4 lead at the 12:46 mark.
Wellesley's Robyn Burleson (Seattle, Wash.) trimmed the lead with a trey with 9:56 remaining, but that was as close as the hosts would get in the first period. The Judges held the Blue scoreless for the next seven minutes while building a 31-7 lead, a run that included three-pointers from Chapin and Carmela Breslin (McKees Rocks, Pa.) and fastbreak buckets from Chapin, Kendrew, and Brighid Courtney (Southampton, Mass.). Kimball broke the ice for the Blue with a freethrow at the 2:40 mark, and the Blue managed six more points in the closing minutes, including two jumpers from Judine St. Gerard (Milton, Mass.), but Brandeis went to the lockerroom with a 36-14 advantage.
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second period, until a four-point run gave the Judges a 44-18 lead with 15:03 remaining. Wellesley responded with a 10-4 run, including a three-pointer from Laura Barrett (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.), before Brandeis surged ahead again, courtesy of another trey from Breslin, to take a 53-30 lead. But Wellesley, who outscored Brandeis 38-28 in the second half, went on a 14-3 run over the next three minutes, cutting the Judges' lead to 56-44 with 6:00 minutes remaining. And a leaning jumper from Wellesley's Sargent brought the Blue to within 10 with 4:05 left.
With 1:42 left on the clock, two freethrows from Katie Martore (Great Fall, Va.) put the score at 57-49, but Chapin drained a three-pointer at 1:02 to push the lead back to double-digits. Chapin followed with two freethrows 20 second later to put the game out of reach, as the Judges held on for the 64-52 win.
Brandeis was led by Chapin, whose 18 points give her a career total of 971, moving her into the top ten scorers in Brandeis history. Kendrew added 17 points and Breslin chipped in 12.
Kimball led the Blue with 17 points as Sargent hit a career-high 12 points while grabbing eight boards. Barrett, Burleson, and Malia Maier (Torrance, Calif.) added five points each in the loss.
After a brief Thanksgiving break, the Judges return to action on Sunday, November 29, at 1:00pm when they host Tufts University in a key non-conference matchup. The Blue take the court on Monday, Nov. 30, at 7:00pm, when they host Wentworth Institute of Technology.