WALTHAM, Mass. – Playing for the second time in seven days, the RV Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team and Brandeis met on the hardcourt in Waltham on Friday night with the Judges pulling away in the final two minutes for a 68-57 win over the Bears.
Sophomore Lexy Harris led the Bears with her seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Graduate Jessica Brooks (13 points) and sophomore Alyssa Hughes (11 points) also reached double figures in scoring.
It was a low scoring affair early in the first quarter with the Judges holding a slim 7-2 lead just before the 5:00 mark before a layup from Brooks cut the lead down to just three. The two teams went on to trade baskets the rest of the quarter with the scoring being tied at 7-7, 9-9, and 12-12.
Brandeis would hit a three with 24 seconds left in the period to take a 15-12 lead into the second quarter.
A jumper by Harris and a three from Brooks gave the Bears their first lead of the night, 17-15 at 9:25 of the second quarter. A trade of the lead ensued with a jumper once again by Harris at 8:49 kept WashU ahead 19-18 at 8:49.
The Judges responded with a 7-0 over the next 1:36 to take a 25-19 lead at 7:13 left in the half. The Bears pulled within one with an "and one" by Harris at 6:30 and a layup from junior Nailah McBeth at 6:05, 25-24.
The Bears would hit a dry spell, not scoring for five minutes with Brandeis taking a 30-24 lead at 3:13. Sophomore Catherine Goodwin got things going again for WashU with a pair of layups with a 1:00 and 0:05 to cut the Judges' lead down to just two, 30-28, as the teams headed into the locker room at the half.
Another slow start to a half in the contest saw the back-and-forth by both teams with Brandeis able to hold on to a slim lead, 37-34 at 5:31. A layup and a pair of free throws by Brooks would once again give the Bears the lead at 4:45.
A jumper by the Judges was immediately answered by Hughes at 4:05 with a three for a 41-39 lead. A Brandeis jumper would tie the score up at 41-41 and a trade of baskets saw the score tied again at 46-46 with 1:12 left in the period. A Judges' layup with :21 left in the quarter saw Brandeis keep a two-point lead going into the final 10 minutes, 48-46.
A pure basket-for-basket to start the fourth saw seven lead changes in the first five minutes with Brooks hitting a jumper at 5:33 to give WashU a 55-54 lead. Both teams would not be able to score for nearly two and a half minutes with both committing multiple travel violations.
The Judges would get the lead back at 3:03 after nearly a three minute drought. They would then hit a three at 2:26 for a four-point lead, 59-57. A layup from Harris cut the lead down to at 2:08. Brandeis scored the final nine points of the game over the final 1:41 to split the season series with a 68-57 win over the Bears.
WashU wraps up their weekend action on Sunday when they visit No. 1 NYU for a rematch at 12 p.m. ET at the Paulson Center in New York City.
