It has been a long month for the women's basketball team, which had failed to earn a win since New Year's Eve, but the team ended it in the best way possible.

With a 67-56 victory against University Athletic Association rival Carnegie Mellon University at Red Auerbach Arena, Brandeis secured its first win in UAA play.

The win improves the team to an 8-10 record overall and 1-6 in conference play.

Coach Carol Simon emphasized that this win was crucial for the team, finally giving them some momentum for the last portion of the season.

"This was a very important victory for the team. ... We needed to get the monkey off our back," said Simon.

"The team has been working very hard this past week, and it was great for all the players to finally get the outcome we have been working so hard for."

In the first half against the Tartans, Brandeis jumped ahead to a 5-0 lead after a short jumper from guard Hannah Cain '15 and a three-pointer from guard Dianna Cincotta '11, MA '12.

With just over four minutes played, the Judges were able to extend their lead to eight points, 13-5, as Cain hit guard Morgan Kendrew '12 in the lane for a lay-up.

Brandeis held onto its lead for the majority of the half but saw the margin slip to within one with just under eight minutes played.

Carnegie freshman guard Gabrielle West passed to junior forward Emily Peel, who was able to sink a mid-range jump shot and narrow the Judges' lead to 14-13. The game was soon tied, 18-18, after two lay-ups from forward Shannon Hassan '12.

With Brandeis leading 20-18 and struggling to gain control of the game, Carnegie saw a golden opportunity and ultimately capitalized on it.

West nailed her second three-pointer of the game to give her team a one-point advantage over the Judges.

However, on the next play, Cincotta responded with a three-pointer of her own to give Brandeis a two-point lead with just over six minutes left remaining in the half.

The Judges maintained control after the defining Cincotta three-pointer for the rest of the half, entering halftime with a 36-28 edge.

While holding a slim lead at halftime, Simon noted that part of her halftime speech emphasized the changes the Judges needed to make to preserve the victory.

"We talked about various adjustments we needed to do and what was working well for us," she said.

"If we continued to do what was working and improve on the things we knew we needed to do better we would come out with a positive outcome."

The Judges shot right out of the gate to enter the second half, as Cain fired a jumper, grabbed her own rebound and laid the ball in for a score, extending Brandeis' lead to 10 points.

On the next play, Hassan quickly nabbed the inbound pass, where Kendrew was able to score two more points, extending the lead to 12 points.

The Tartans, while battling to stay in the game with the Judges, ultimately could not fight any longer as the home team cruised to a win.

Kendrew led the Judges in scoring during the game with 22 points, tying Cain with four assists. During the game, Cincotta hit the 100th three-pointer of her career, only the sixth Judge ever to do so.

Two days before facing Carnegie Mellon, the Judges hosted Case Western Reserve, ultimately losing the contest 61-54.

Brandeis managed to keep the game close against the Spartans, only entering halftime with a slim 29-26 deficit. The first half featured three lead changes, and save for a 9-0 Case scoring spurt to end the half, the Judges maintained complete control of the game and a shot at their first conference victory.

Despite another three lead changes,the Judges were outscored 32-28 in the second half. Six minutes into the half, the Judges would prove unable to recapture the lead for the remainder of the game.

Kendrew led the Judges in scoring with 13 points, while Cain led the team with five assists. Forward Samantha Anderson '13 had a team-high 11 rebounds, eight of which were on the defensive end.

While the team will undoubtedly enjoy the victory against Carnegie, Simon noted that the team still had a lot of work to do, especially on the offensive end of the court.

"I feel this past weekend, we were a more disciplined team on the offensive end," she said.

"We did not force things. ... We have been working on keeping things simple. We continue to work on all aspects of the game and our goal is to get better every day."

Brandeis will seek to avenge its loss to Case Western this Friday in a road game, at 6 p.m. On Sunday afternoon, the Judges will play Carnegie Mellon once more in an attempt to sweep the season series.