Rochester, NY – The Rochester women's basketball team outdueled Brandeis in a defensive battle at the Palestra on Friday night. Although UR led for a majority of the contest, Brandeis kept it close until the end, despite having 30 turnovers.
The Yellowjackets pulled away in the fourth quarter to get their second victory of the season over Brandeis by a score of 61-51.
Rochester struggled shooting the three, going 1-16 from behind the arc. As a result, the Yellowjackets turned to their "bigs" inside as
Alexandra Leslie and
Lauren Deming each had huge games on both ends of the court.
Leslie led the way scoring with 19 points on 7-15 shooting. She added 10 rebounds four blocks and two steals in 31 minutes. Deming tacked on 16 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes. She also had a career high seven steals on the defensive end.
Brynn Lauer added 10 points and a season high eight rebounds for Rochester in 28 minutes.
Emma Michaels and
Mary Kronenwetter had four points a piece while
Lauren Foley hit Rochester's lone three-pointer in the first half.
Leading the way for Brandeis was Joelle Markanthony with 12 points and three rebounds. Katherine Puda added 11 points and four boards while Noel Hodges had 8 points, six rebounds and two assists.
It was a slow start offensively for both teams with the first period ending with Rochester leading Brandeis 11-7. The second quarter was more of the same as the first half ended with UR up 24-17.
Brandeis got things going in the third, going on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 32. Brandeis would go on to take their first lead since the opening minutes when they went up 36-34 with two minutes remaining in the third period. Deming would hit free throws with 11 seconds left in the quarter to give Rochester a 38-36 lead after three.
After Brandeis hit a quick three pointer to open the final period, Rochester would go on a 9-0 run to gain the lead back and go up 48-39.
The Yellowjackets did not look back as they would go on to win by 10. Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half but Rochester was able to minimize second half turnovers where as Brandeis could not, turning the ball over 16 times in the second half alone.
UR is back at the Palestra on Sunday afternoon for a rematch against New York University. The first meeting between the two squads in New York was an overtime thriller, which Rochester won by four. The game is set to tip at 2pm.
