The women’s basketball team went on a University Athletic Association conference road trip this past weekend, splitting contests with Case Western Reserve University and Carnegie Mellon University. The team lost to Case 58-51 on Sunday afternoon and beat Carnegie 67-60 on Friday night. The Judges go to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

“We knew going into this weekend that both of the teams we were playing were very good teams; however, we have nothing to lose,” said guard Frankie Pinto ’17. “We know that when we play our brand of basketball, we are really tough to beat.”

Case led for much of the game, going into halftime with a six-point lead. The Judges never played with a sense of urgency until about six and a half minutes remaining in the second half.

Down 45-37, guard Niki Laskaris ’16 hit two consecutive three-pointers to bring the squad within two points. After Case missed their next four foul shots, guard Paris Hodges ’17 tied the game at 45 apiece with just over four minutes to play. 

After that, Case regained control as the Judges began to fall victim to turnovers. The team turned the ball over twice in the final minute of the game, sealing the victory for Case. 

Laskaris led the team with 14 points, including eight in the second half. Guard Hannah Cain ’15 also contributed on the offensive side with 10 points and three assists. 

Forward Sydney Sodine ’17 was big on the glass, garnering a career high with 10 rebounds. 

The Judges were impressive in their rebounding, outrebounding Case 48-34 for the game. The key problem for the team, exemplified by the final minute of the game, was turnovers. The squad turned the ball over 25 times while only being able to force 12 from Case.

Unlike the game against Case, the women were able to pull out a victory against Carnegie in part due to a true team effort. 

 Hodges came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points and eight rebounds. Pinto also had 12 points, including a four-point play. 

The bench, led by guard Heather Cain ’16 and her 11 points, was the key to the Judges’ victory. The Brandeis bench outscored Carnegie 25-5. 

“When we are playing a game and have a lot of different people scoring, it makes it very difficult for the other team to stop us,” Pinto said. 

“If they take away one option, it’s okay because there are other people who are fully capable of scoring. This is what contributed to our win against Carnegie.”

The game started out poorly for the Judges as they trailed 15-4 early in the first half. The team was able to rally and go into the halftime break with a 30-28 slight advantage. 

Carnegie led by as much as seven in the second half, and the Judges did not take back the lead until there were just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. 

The teams traded baskets for much of the rest of the half until Hodges hit a jumper with 2:27 remaining that gave the squad a lead that it would not relinquish.

The team will return home to play this weekend with games against the University of Chicago on Friday night and No 4. Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday afternoon.