WALTHAM, Mass. – Regis College used the long distance shot to establish a multi-possession lead, and then the Pride held off a late Brandeis rally to defeat the Judges, 62-57, Tuesday afternoon in a non-conference women's collegiate basketball game at Red Auerbach Arena.
Maura Russell (Braintree, Mass.) hit five three-pointers as she led the Pride with a season-high 17 points. Valerie Martin (Derry, N.H.) finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and Nikki Bitinaitis (Cromwell, Conn.) collected 13 points, five assists, and three steals.
Brandeis (4-6) opened the game by scoring seven of the first nine points, including a three-pointer by Camila Casanueva. Starting with a three-pointer by Bitinaitis, Regis rattled off an 8-2 scoring run to close out the first quarter, capped by a three-pointer from Russell.
The Pride scored eight unanswered points over the first four minutes of the second quarter, beginning with another three-pointer from Russell and continuing with a three-pointer and a layup by Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.). The Judges responded with a 10-3 scoring run over the next four minutes, but Russell scored five straight points to close out the second quarter, giving Regis a 26-19 lead at halftime.
The Judges opened the third quarter with an 11-2 scoring run, led by Kat Puda with six points and Casanueva with five points, to pull ahead 30-28 three minutes into the second half. Bitinaitis quickly hit a layup to tie the game, and Russell followed with consecutive three-pointers to give the Pride the lead for good.
Down by 10 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Brandeis made one final push, putting together a 9-2 scoring run starting with five points by Puda and followed by four points from Hannah Nicholson. Martin drove in for a layup with 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter and then, after a three-pointer by Lauren Rubinstein, made two free throws to clinch the victory for the Pride.
Puda led the Judges with 15 points, Casanueva finished with nine points, three rebounds, and six assists, and Nicholson contributed eight points, eight rebounds, and two blocked shots. As a team, Brandeis shot 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the field, including 6-of-26 from behind the three-point line, and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line. The Judges controlled the rebounding battle, 49-27, including 17 offensive rebounds leading to 19 second chance points.
The Pride shot 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field, including 10-of-24 from behind the three-point line, and 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free throw line. Regis scored 19 points off 23 Brandeis turnovers, plus the Pride committed only 10 turnovers, the fewest in a single game since the NECC Tournament championship game against Elms Feb. 25, 2017.
Regis (3-7) next plays its first home game of 2019, hosting UMass Dartmouth Thursday, Jan. 3, starting at 6 p.m. at Higgins Court. The Corsairs enter the contest with a 9-2 overall record, losing only to top-ranked Bowdoin Dec. 6 and at Babson this past Monday.