Both UR basketball teams returned to the Palestra this past Friday and defeated Brandeis University for the first of three final games of the regular season.
The women, coming off a win against Carnegie Mellon the previous Sunday, looked to extend their winning streak to three games after losing three in a row — twice to the University of Chicago and once to Washington University earlier in conference play. In the first half of the game, neither team was strong offensively. UR led the visiting judges 11–7 going into the second quarter, and 24–7 at the half.
Despite UR’s attempts at minimizing turnovers, Brandeis went on an 11–2 run in the third quarter and went on to tie the game at 32 points. With two minutes remaining in the third, Brandeis took its first lead of the game (36–34) before senior forward Lauren Deming sunk two free throws to give UR a 38–36 lead at the end of the quarter. A three-pointer from Brandeis opened the final quarter, giving it the lead. UR answered with a 9–0 run, maintaining its lead until the final buzzer and beat Brandeis 61–51.
UR scoring was led by senior forward Al Leslie, who scored 19 points in her 31 minutes of play. Deming followed with 16 points, and senior guard Brynn Lauer added 10 and a season-high eight rebounds. Leslie moved into second place in all-time career points after scoring 23 at Carnegie Mellon last week, improving her total to 1,758 after that game. Jody Lavin ‘82 scored 2,094 points in 91 games for the Yellowjackets from 1978–1982 and currently leads all-time scoring.
A much-needed win came for the men at home against Brandeis as they had lost five of their last six conference games. UR scored nine points in the first half before the Judges answered with a layup and increased momentum, allowing them to outscore UR 14–5 in less than three minutes. Brandeis sunk a three-pointer and went on an 8–0 run midway through the first half, in which it took its first lead. Late in the half, junior guard Ryan Clamage had an offensive run, scoring seven points, giving UR a 39–36 lead at halftime.
Brandeis came within five points of UR in the second half, but offensive contributions from Clamage, junior forward Andrew Lundstrom, senior forward Tucker Knox, and junior guard Alexander Gamble allowed UR to come away with the 81–58 victory.
Junior guard Jacob Wittig was also strong offensively, netting 18 points and five assists, with sophomore forward Patrick Benka tallying 13. Clamage scored a total of 13 points and contributed five assists, and Lundstrom had 14 points, which included one three-pointer.
As of this past Friday, the men ranked fourth in the UAA standings, while the women sat in second. Both teams have yet to play Emory University, whose men’s team is ranked second in the conference. Washington University’s men’s team is currently undefeated in the conference and has already clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament. University of Chicago women’s basketball is also 12–0 in conference play, and clinched the outright conference title on Friday.
