The women’s basketball team went 0-2 this past week, losing to the University of Chicago 73-59 on Sunday afternoon and to Washington University in St. Louis 65-59 on Friday evening. The Judges fell to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in University Athletic Association play.

Judges 59, Chicago 73

Though the Judges got ahead early in the game, the Maroons pulled away with a dominant fourth quarter performance.

Brandeis started the game with a three-point shot from guard Niki Laskaris ’16, giving the Judges a 15-4 lead with 5:28 remaining in the first quarter. The Maroons responded with a scoring run of their own and finished the quarter on a 9-4 run,  cutting the deficit to a fairly reasonable six points at 19-13.

Chicago outscored Brandeis 17-10 in the second quarter behind eight points from freshman forward Britta Nordstrom. Brandeis guards Heather Cain ’16 and Paris Hodges ’17 kept the Maroons within range, as both players scored four points in the quarter. A free-throw from Hodges cut the Chicago lead to 30-29 just before halftime.

Both squads played fairly equally in the third quarter. Chicago freshman guard Elizabeth Nye started a 10-0 run in the beginning part of the quarter with a three-point shot. Brandeis responded with an 11-4 run highlighted by five points from guard Kyla Gabriel ’17. Still, Brandeis entered the fourth quarter trailing 45-42.

Chicago took control of the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Judges 28-17 in the period. They opened the quarter on a 10-4 run and then went on a 14-7 run to open up a 69-55 lead with 1:15 left. The lead was too much for Brandeis to overcome.

Overall, Chicago dominated the paint with 50 points down low, yet the Judges held their own, posting almost 40 from within the key.

Though the Judges outrebounded the Maroons 36-31, Brandeis shot just 39.7 percent from the field, while Chicago shot 52.5 percent.

Judges 59, WashU 65

Brandeis could not overcome an early deficit, despite 15 and 16 points from forwards  Maria Jackson ’18 and Sydney Sodine ’17, respectively.

WashU took a 23-14 lead in the first quarter behind 13 points from freshman guard Natalie Orr, who shot 5-for-5 from the field in the quarter.

Brandeis responded with a strong defensive effort in the second quarter. The Judges only allowed six points in the period and scored 15 points of their own to head into halftime with the game tied 29-29.

Sodine and Hodges combined to score nine of the Judges’ 15 points in the quarter.

The Bears took a six-point lead in the third quarter and were up 47-42 with 3:19 remaining in the quarter when guard Sarah Jaromin ’19 hit two free-throws and a three-point shot to tie the game. The Judges entered the fourth quarter down 49-47 following a WashU jumpshot.

The visitors took the lead after a three-point shot from Jaromin early in the quarter, but WashU regained the lead seconds later on a pair of clutch free-throws. 

The Judges took the lead again on a layup from Jackson and led 54-51 following a jump shot from Sodine. WashU went on an 11-0 run, though, to take a commanding 62-54 lead with 3:40 remaining in the game.

After turnovers from both teams, Jackson hit two lay-ups to cut the lead to four points at 62-58 with 2:29 left. Gabriel hit 1-of-2 at the free-throw line with 16 seconds remaining, but the Bears hit three of four foul shots to put the game out of reach.

Jaromin finished the game with 12 points, and Sodine contributed five assists, five rebounds and three steals to her 16 points. The Judges shot 43.1 percent from the field, while the Bears shot 36.2 percent.

The Judges turned the ball over an unforgivable 21 times, which led to 15 points by the WashU squad. Turnovers were key for WashU, as the team was able to convert late in the game off the Judges' mistakes.

Brandeis continues UAA play at home against Case Western Reserve University this Friday at 6 p.m. and against Carnegie Mellon University on Sunday at 2 p.m.