February 2, 2007

Maroons' Rally Falls Short at Brandeis

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Despite rallying from a 13-point second half deficit to take the lead late in the contest, the 12th-ranked University of Chicago women's basketball team fell to 19th-ranked Brandeis University 52-50 in University Athletic Association play Friday night at Auerbach Arena.

Chicago (16-3 overall, 5-3 UAA) trailed 38-25 with 15:10 left in the game. The Maroons then opened up a 17-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by senior Korry Schwanz (Menominee, Mich./ Menominee), which put them on top 42-40 at the 9:07 mark. Schwanz collected eight of her game-high 12 points during that run.

The Maroons held the lead until the 3:53 mark when Jaime Capra's layup put Brandeis (15-3, 5-3) ahead 49-48. Capra paced the Judges with 11 points.

Chicago took its last lead, 50-49, on a pair of free throws from junior Nofi Mojidi (Silver Spring, Md./ Bullis School) with 2:46 to go. With seven points on the night, Mojidi was held to single digits for just the second time in 19 games this year.

Lauren Orlando connected on one of two free throw attempts with 2:02 remaining to tie the game at 50-50.

The score remained even until Caitlin Malcolm went 1-for-2 from the foul line with 38 seconds left.

Chicago had a chance to take the lead on its last possession, but missed two shots in the game's final five seconds. Kiersten Holgash hit one of two free throw tries with :01 showing on the clock to seal the win for the Judges.

Chicago -- which suffered its third straight loss -- outshot Brandeis 41% to 33% and held a 39-30 edge on the boards, but was plagued by 22 turnovers.

Freshman Molly Hackney (East Lansing, Mich./ Lansing Catholic) finished the night with 11 points, seven rebounds, six steals, three assists, and three blocked shots for the Maroons.

Alison Chase scored 10 points for Brandeis.

Box Score