For the second straight weekend, the UR women’s basketball team hosted two weekend games against tough University Athletic Association foes. And again, the Yellowjackets came away with one win and one loss.
On Friday, the Brandeis University Judges came into the Palestra looking to take the buzz out of the Yellowjackets. The Judges had no such luck in the first half, as UR played solid on both ends of the floor and held a 30-21 halftime lead. Brandeis made only 30 percent of their first-half shots, a testament to the great defense by the Yellowjackets.
In the second half, the Judges chipped at the UR lead, but with 11 minutes left in the game the Yellowjackets still held an eight-point lead. That’s when the game took a dramatic turn in favor of Brandeis.
Over a five minute span, the Judges went on a 14-0 run, destroying the Yellowjacket lead and putting the home team in a six-point hole that they simply could not overcome. The final score was 63-51 in favor of Brandeis.
“Against Brandeis, we just had a very bad six-minute stretch in the second half where we went from [being] eight up to down [by] six in a hurry,” head coach Jim Scheible said. “We just did not make shots and could not stop them for a short stretch.”
The bright spot for the Yellowjackets was sophomore Jessica Waddell, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. However, she was the only Yellowjacket to post more than six points, and UR recorded only seven assists as a team.
This loss made Sunday’s game incredibly important. The New York University Violets were looking to avenge a loss at the hands of the Yellowjackets earlier this year.
The first half was a see-saw battle with the two teams trading sizable leads and ended with NYU leading 39-36. While UR shot a modest 37 percent from the floor in the half, NYU scorched the net with five three-pointers and 48 percent shooting.
After less-than-stellar second half performances in their last two games, the Yellowjackets knew that they had to step up, and that is exactly what they did. NYU refused to fold, however, and with just over four minutes left in the game, UR was clinging to a two-point lead. Senior Jessie Graham then hit a monster three-pointer, her only bucket of the game, to give UR a five-point lead. They carried that lead to the end and came away with a 75-69 victory.
The big story of the game was rebounding. UR held a 52-34 advantage in total rebounds, and led 18-3 in offensive boards. These impressive rebounding stats translated into many baskets for the Yellowjackets, who racked up 21 second-chance points, compared to just one for the Violets.
Sunday’s game capped a string of six straight games against opponents ranked in the top-25. UR has now played 10 games against ranked opponents, more than any other team in the country.
The Yellowjackets will now play their final three regular season games on the road, starting at Case Western Reserve University on Friday.
Moeller can be reached at amoeller@campustimes.org.
