The women’s basketball team has five University Athletic Association matchups under their belt. After splitting this weekend with one victory against the Washington University in St. Louis Bears and one loss against the University of Chicago Maroons, the team has a UAA record of 2–3. Overall, the team has a winning record of 12–4. 

Team captain Julia St. Amand ’20 told the Justice that the team’s goal is to be the top in the UAA. She wrote, “We push each other to get the job done and frequently say ‘practice should be the hardest part of our week. We should be pushing each other the same if not more than other teams will.’” Amand said the team started out on a “strong note” and continued to keep that momentum, approaching their practices with “new challenges and new goals.” The Judges still have nine UAA games to go this season.

Judges 60, Maroons 68

The Judges suffered an overtime loss against the Maroons on Sunday. In the first quarter, the Judges’ performance was promising as senior Lauren Rubinstein ’20 started the game with a layup at 8:52 to put the team on the scoreboard and the Judges ahead 2–0. At 4:36, free throws by Shannon Smally ’22 put the Judges up 10–7. However, the Maroons closed the gap and pulled ahead, ending the quarter 14–17 in their favor.

The second quarter left the Maroons ahead 24–25 headed into the half. However, overall, the Judges out-scored Chicago in the second quarter at 10–8. Entering the second half, the Judges could still put out a win, with the teams only one point apart. The Maroons began the scoring action in the second half with a layup by Taylor Lake with 8:55 to go in the quarter, bringing the score to 24–27. It took over a minute for the Judges to respond when Rubinstein made two free throw shots following a foul by the Maroons’ Mallory Brodnik. With the score now 26–31, action continued as Camila Casanueve ’21 blocked a layup by Taylor before making a jump shot just eight seconds later. Ultimately, the Judges persisted and actually ended the quarter ahead 40–38.

The final quarter was full of suspense as the teams remained close in scores. After a quarter during which neither team was ever more than five points ahead of the other, the game was forced to enter overtime with a tied score of 53. In overtime, the Maroons pulled ahead and never looked back. Although the Judges were able to score — Francesca Marchese ’23 made a layup and a three-point shot and Rubinstein made two free throws — these were not enough to crown the Judges victorious. Ultimately, the Maroons claimed the win, 60–68.

Bears 81, Judges 86

The Judges claimed their second UAA victory against WashU on Saturday. The teams were evenly matched, and they tied ten times and exchanged leads 12 times. The first quarter ended with the Bears in a 22–20 lead after the Bears recovered from the Judges’ 9–5 lead to catch up and tie the score at 11 points. They pulled ahead, holding the Judges at a score of 11 from 5:32 when Katherine Puda ’21 made two free throws, until Emma Reavis ’23 made a layup at 3:39. With two seconds left in the quarter left, Casanueva made a jump shot.

In the second quarter, the Judges came back swinging. Jillian Petrie ’21 tied the score at 22 within 20 seconds. Casanueva also responded less than a minute later with a three-point shot. The quarter tied again at 25, before Brandeis pulled ahead with a jump shot by Courtney Thrun ’21 and led the rest of the half to end with a score of 44–41. The third quarter brought more lead changes and ties before ending with a score of 59–63 with the Bears ahead. With this four-point deficit, the Judges took the last ten minutes of the game and gained the momentum needed to score 27 points. With WashU only scoring 18 points, the Judges had pulled ahead just enough  to win the game. 

Looking ahead at the final nine games of the UAA season, St. Amand reflected on her time on the team, saying the culture has changed dramatically since she and the other seniors started out. “There is no longer a hierarchical structure where seniors speak more than freshman or starters matter more than bench players. There is an open relationship on the team where everyone has a voice and is equally valued,” she said. Even within this season alone, she added that the team has been learning and growing from their mistakes. 

“We trust and respect one another to make the right choices and get the job done,” St. Amand commented.