After a Friday night men’s basketball overtime thriller, the Brandeis women’s basketball team hosted the Emory University Eagles at the Auerbach Arena. In this University Athletic Association (UAA) rematch, the teams battled hard until the very last minute, but it was the Eagles who left the court with the win after eight ties and 14 lead changes.

The Judges’ offense struggled for a while in the early minutes,which led to some turnovers and a scoring drought until center Casey Perry ’24 drew a foul and sank both free throws. Brandeis did their job on the defensive end, and Francesca Marchese' 23 gave the Judges their first lead with her three-pointer. After that, both teams traded buckets in their unique ways. The Judges stayed physical and made the penalty shots awarded, while the Eagles cut and found open shots. Both teams stacked up fouls quickly in a physical first half,  the Judges took advantage by cashing off some points from the free-throw line. Brandeis hustled and remained close, the score being 36-40 Emory at halftime.

After the break, the Judges altered their plan and attacked the baseline with determination. Kerry Tanke ’22 made a tough layup. A classic trifecta from captain Camila Casanueva ’22 tied the game, and Perry finished strong down-low to put the Judges back on top. Defensively, Brandeis matched the shooters better but entered another scoring drought offensively. The Eagles seized the opportunity and went on a critical 12-0 run, eventually ended by an and-one layup from Casanueva. Nevertheless, the Judges continued to struggle against the Eagles’ defense. The Eagles found their way down the stretch against Brandeis, and a late turnover shut the door for the Judges during the free-throw battle, giving the Eagles their sixth win of this UAA season. The final score was 65-76. 

Casanueva, as usual, led the Judges by example with a game-high 24-point performance. Perry scored a career-high nine points and collected six rebounds. Meanwhile, captain Emma Reavis ’23 filled the sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, and a game-high seven assists. The Judges improved their game and put up a solid fight against the Emory Eagles after a blowout during the last matchup. 

Moving onto hosting the University of Rochester Yellowjackets on Sunday, the Brandeis Judges held their ground in the first half but could not get the job done. 

A layup by Caitlin Gresko ’25 started off the Judges offense and Reavis chimed in with a 6-2 run on her own. The Yellowjackets fired from the distance but could not connect in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Judges stuck with high pick-and-roll actions between Casanueva and Perry, which continued to work in the early periods as they did on the road. Rochester ran their offense around hand-offs at the key, cashed some easy jumpers, and went on a 7-0 run at the end of the first period and established their lead. The Judges closed the gap with rugged defense and four straight free throws made by Tathiana Pierre ’23. Brandeis entered halftime trailing by just five points, with a score of 30-35.

Coming out of halftime, Casanueva found Marchese off a beautiful backdoor cut to open up the quarter for the Judges. The Judges collected offensive rebounds and put them back. After that, the game became physical, and the Yellowjackets took advantage of that by exploiting their size advantage to get some buckets in the lane. Reavis topped off a tough and-one layup, attempting to get something going for the Judges, but the Yellowjackets outscored the Judges with a 20-7 run in the third quarter and pulled away. 

Macy Arsenault ’24 started the fourth quarter for the Judges with a corner three with a hand in her face. Gresko and Casanueva tried to make things happen with another three-point shot and a layup plus the foul, but the Yellowjackets continued to attack the paint and got rewarded easily. The Judges could not hold the Yellowjackets off as both teams traded buckets down the stretch. The University of Rochester Yellowjackets figured out their defensive rotation this game and sank their shots from the perimeter, and they left the Auerbach Arena with the win, 72-55. 

Reavis stayed hot as she scored another career-high 17 points, her third career-high scoring performance in five games. Casanueva was on the double-double watch with 12 points and team-high nine rebounds. Gresko added 11 points and five rebounds to the game. The Judges concluded the weekend, now with a 1-8 UAA record, 6-12 overall, and will start another road trip visiting Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve University.