From Brandeis University Athletics
For the first time in 10 years, the Brandeis University women's basketball team will be playing in the ECAC Division III New England Championship game, as the sixth-seeded Judges defeated second-seeded Emmanuel College, 91-78, in the ECAC Semifinals in Red Auerbach Arena today.
Sophomore guard Frankie Pinto (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) scored 19 of her 23 points in the first half and classmate Sydney Sodine (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sodine's performance helped the Judges own the battle of the boards, 53-34, including 17-10 on the offensive glass. Five of Sodine's 11 rebounds were on the offensive end.
Senior Hannah Cain and junior Heather Cain (Gloucester, Mass./Gloucester) combined for 18 second-half points as the Judges survived an aggressive press to defeat the Saints for the second time this season and fourth time in the last two campaigns. Hannah finished with 16 points and tied for game-high honors with four assists, while Heather added 12 points.
In addition to their huge rebounding advantage, Brandeis also shot 60 percent from 3-point range (9-15) while holding Emmanuel to 21 percent (3-14). The Judges also outscored EC, 26-15, from the free throw line as four different Emmanuel players fouled out as the Saints sent Brandeis to the line as they tried to come back.
Emmanuel was led by junior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass./Pentucket Regional), who scored a game-high 31 points, 20 of which came in the first half. Higgins hit 13-of-21 from the field, 2-of-4 from deep and 3-of-4 from the line. Senior forward Vanessa Bramante (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) added 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Saints, while senior forward Jennifer Bujnowski (Salem, N.H./Salem) had 11 points, five boards and two blocked shots.
The Saints won the turnover battle, 29-19, and scored 30 points off of Brandeis miscues. They also outscored Brandeis, 40-26 in points in the paint.
In the first half, the game was tied five times and the lead changed hands four times, but Brandeis never fell behind by more than a point. With the game square at 24-24 and 9:39 on the clock, Hannah Cain hit a lay-up and Pinto connected from beyond the arc within the next 36 seconds to put Brandeis in front by five, and the Judges never trailed again.
Bujnowski answered with a layup, but the home team scored three-straight 3-pointers, two by Pinto and one by Heather Cain. It was part of a 13-4 run that was capped by a Pinto steal and lay-up that made it 42-30 with 5:43 in the first. The Judges would lead by as many as 13 in the first half before taking a 50-41 lead into the locker room, the team's highest scoring half of basketball all season long.
A 17-7 run over the first six minutes of the second half made it a 67-48 lead for Brandeis on a Sodine put-back, and Heather Cain's hoop on an inbounds play gave the Judges their largest lead, 71-50, with 11:36 on the clock.
Emmanuel started a full-court press at that point, and the Saints used it to nearly climb all the way back. They trimmed the lead in half with a 13-2 run, getting to 73-63 on two Higgins foul shots at the 6:13 mark. Brandeis scored the game's next five points from the line to go back ahead by 15, 78-63. A 13-4 run from the visitors got them within 82-75 when Bramante converted a traditional three-point play with just under two-and-a-half minutes on the clock.
Heather Cain hit twice from the line, but Bramante answered with another and-one, getting EC within 84-78 with 1:39 to go. The Judges were able to keep the visitors off the board the rest of the way, hanging on for the 91-78 win, marking Brandeis's highest scoring output of the season.
The Judges (15-12) will meet top-seeded Westfield State University (24-5) tomorrow at 1 p.m. The Owls came from six points down with 1:48 remaining to defeat Keene State, 62-61. Brandeis will be looking for their third-ever ECAC crown, after taking back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Westfield State is in search of their first title.