CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Chicago women's basketball team shot over 55 percent from the floor and ran away with an 86-69 victory over Brandeis University on Friday.

The Maroons (17-6 overall, 11-1 UAA) have now won 11-straight games and continue to hold on to a one-game lead at the top of the conference standings. The Judges dropped to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in league games.

Brandeis came out the aggressor early on and built up an 11-6 lead. UChicago struggled defensively, getting stuck on picks and blown by on drives to the hoop. The Judges worked hard for their shots and increased the advantage to 18-11.

At that point, the Maroons got right back in thanks to long-range bombing. Junior guard Caitlin Moore hit a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions, and freshman guard Elizabeth Nye put the team ahead with a three of her own immediately after. UChicago scored 16-straight points in the run and Moore capped it with a layup at 27-18.

Just when Brandeis closed the gap to 27-24, three-pointers from Nye and senior forward Ellie Greiner pushed the advantage back to nine points. Late in the half, senior forward Claire Devaney made one of two free throws and sophomore guard Stephanie Anderson swooped in for the rebound and putback layup to make the score 42-28. Devaney scored a layup of her own on the next possession as part of her 11 first-half points.

The home side went into halftime with a 44-30 lead. Brandeis did most of its damage in the interior, pulling down nine offensive boards and outrebounding UChicago 22-15 overall. However, the Maroons shot 51.5 percent in the half. Moore and Nye both tallied eight points by the break.

Senior guard Morgan Donovan owned the opening six minutes of the second half. Donovan frequently went hard at the basket and converted layup after layup. She scored 13 points in 10 second-half minutes, making all five field goals and all three free throws. With the senior leading the charge, UChicago boosted its lead to 20 points at 62-42.

The Maroons turned up the heat even more as the half wore on and shot 60.7 percent on field goals. UChicago scored in bunches and used a 16-4 run to take its largest lead of the night at 80-49. The home team cruised from there despite a glut of fouls and defeated their 13th opponent by double digits.

The Judges dominated the boards 40-29, but the Maroons scored 26 points off 20 Brandeis turnovers. UChicago shot 55.7 percent overall from the field – its second-highest percentage of the year.

UChicago Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 55.7 percent (34-61)
Three-point Percentage – 38.1 percent (8-21)
Free-throw Percentage – 76.9 percent (10-13)
Morgan Donovan (Guard, Sr.) – 18 points, 6 assists
Claire Devaney (Forward, Sr.) – 16 points, 8 rebounds
Caitlin Moore (Guard, Jr.) – 14 points

Brandeis Team Stats & Leaders
Field-goal Percentage – 38.7 percent (24-62)
Three-point Percentage – 20.0 percent (1-5)
Free-throw Percentage – 74.1 percent (20-27)
Paris Hodges – 15 points

NEXT GAME:

• Sunday, February 22 – New York University at UChicago, 2 PM