The women's basketball squad has succeeded when the offense has gained momentum. In the Judges' victories this year, the squads have tallied 89, 50 and 71 points. However, Brandeis failed to eclipse the 60-point mark this past week and, as a result, lost two out of its three games.

While defeating Endicott College by a score of 59-48 on Thursday, the squad suffered losses at the hands of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Roger Williams University by margins of 50-49 and 54-47. The team, after the defeats, drops to 4-5 on the season.

Brandeis surged to a quick start in the match against Roger Williams, boasting a 27-21 lead at the half. Yet, no Judge had more than five points heading into the locker room. The Hawks capitalized, roaring out on a 7-0 run to begin the second half, outscoring the Judges by 13 en route to a 54-47 victory. The Judges only shot eight for 26 from the field, recording a 31 percent field goal percentage.

However, Brandeis struggled to combat Roger Williams' full court press, which they utilized with great regularity in the second half. The Judges were stunned, and in a second half in which they performed inconsistently on offense, did not have an answer.

Many of the Judges' offensive plays in the second half seemed to be identical. After bringing the ball up the floor, the Judges' guards would repeatedly overlook wide-open players in the paint for easy baskets. However, much credit must go to the visiting Hawks for their enduring defense that left Brandeis without answers.

Guard Hannah Cain '15 led the charge for the Judges with 11 points, six of which came in the second half. Forward Nicolina Vitale '14 added a season-high eight points from the bench while forward Samantha Anderson '13 chipped in six rebounds.

The Judges' fate on Thursday, however, proved to be a different story. Seven players on the squad totaled five or more points against Endicott. Guard Kasey Dean '14 emerged as the key contributor in this victory, compiling a line of 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Cain added 11 points and five boards, while forward Erika Higginbottom '13 posted nine points and seven rebounds and two blocks. Guard Samantha Mancinelli '16 had an imposing performance in the second half that helped Brandeis seal the game, burying seven crucial points to give the Judges an advantage.

Versus Endicott, the Judges were on the ropes for much of the first half, yet they took a one-point lead into the break. After the interval, however, Dean made key contributions on both ends of the court, including two baskets and two steals, that helped the Judges break open a seven-point lead. And though the Gulls would tie it back up at 28-28, Brandeis was able to build a six-point lead. From there, they never relinquished the lead and ran out the clock on the 59-48 win. Cain led the squad with 11 points, while Dean led the team in the assists category with four.

The squad began its week with a match against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and, yet, failed to eclipse the 50-point mark, resulting in a heart breaking loss. Senior forward Colleen Moriarty torched the Judges with 22 points, the final two coming with just five seconds left. Dean kept the Judges in the game with a team-leading 12 points, but unfortunately, her efforts were not enough to give Brandeis the extra push.

Despite the fact that the Judges went 1-2 over the past week, the squad actually posted an increasingly improving field goal percentage in every game this week. Thus, the Judges' struggles, according to Coach Carol Simon, may be best explained by the number of turnovers that the Judges have compiled in the losses. The squad had 14 against Endicott, while versus Roger Williams, they had 21. She noted that this performance "was greatly inconsistent and needed to be improved upon."

However, the season is still young for the Judges. Their next five games are at home, three of which are against conference teams. The squad will take on Simmons College tonight at 7 p.m. for its final home game before the winter recess.

Simon, though, noted that her eye is on the two impending non-conference games.

"We still have two non-conference games, so that's what we are focused on now," she said.

Her aim for the short term will be to bring her squad to great heights. Under Simon's watchful eye, this team has the potential to make a lot of noise. Only time will tell.
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