Jackets Pull Away in 2nd Half for UAA Win at Brandeis

WALTHAM, MA – Backed by a strong performance from the starting five players, the University of Rochester women’s basketball team earned a hard-fought 78-60 win over Brandeis University in a UAA conference matchup on Sunday afternoon at Red Auerbach Arena.

Rochester (9-9, 4-3 UAA) was led by Hannah Lindemuth who scored 22 points, making 6-of-8 3-pointers in the win. Abby Gress scored 19 points and had 7 rebounds, shooting 7-for-11 from the field. UR’s other remaining starting five players, Rylee Drahos, Haley Dumiak and Callie McCulley all scored at least six points to have the starters combine for 61 points.

Only one player from Brandeis (4-14, 0-7 UAA) reached double-digit scoring, with Caitlin Gresko scoring ten points.

The Yellowjacket defense combined to hold the Judges to just 34% shooting in the game, as Brandeis made 22-of-64 shots. UR meanwhile, made 47% from the field (29-62) and 3-point range (8-17) in the victory. Rochester did struggle from the charity stripe though, making just 12-of-30 attempts, a 40% clip.

Rochester committed just six turnovers in the loss, a season-low, while distributing 19 assists. McCulley handled five assists, while Franki Gomes added four off the bench. On the glass, UR edged Brandeis 43-41, with Drahos’ eight leading the Yellowjakcets. Gress and Tia Poulakidas finished with seven.

After a nip-and-tuck opening quarter which saw the Yellowjackets hold a 16-15 lead, Drahos and Lindemuth combined for five points to stretch the UR lead to six after one minute in the second stanza.

Brandeis scored the next seven points, aided by a Gresko 3-pointer, to edge in front by a point with 7:09 left in the half. She hit another on the next Judges possession and Brandeis held a 25-23 lead.

Down the stretch in the second quarter, a Dumiak 3-pointer started a 9-2 run for Rochester over the final 2:28 to allow the Yellowjackets to lead by seven at intermission, 38-31.

The run stretched to 15-2 after the opening few minutes of the third quarter as Rochester scored the first six points after the halftime break. Gress hit an old-fashioned 3-point play, while Lindemuth again drained a triple to put UR in front 44-31.

UR’s lead remaining in double-digits for much of the remaining time of the third quarter, with two Kat Jenks free throws boosting the lead back to 13 as the teams headed into the fourth.

Brandeis started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from Francesca Marchese to cut the deficit to ten, but Gress and Lindemuth combined for a 9-2 run themselves over the next three minutes to extend the Yellowjacket lead once again, eventually cruising to the 18-point victory.

UR’s double-digit win was its third in the last four games and sixth this season. The Yellowjackets committing only six turnovers was the fewest in nearly two years, with Rochester last matching that number on February 6, 2022, also at Brandeis.

Next weekend, UR hosts NYU and Brandeis as the UAA calendar flips over to the second half of the season.

Rochester Bested by Top-Ranked NYU

NEW YORK – The University of Rochester women’s basketball team ran into the buzzsaw that is #1 New York University on Friday evening, falling to the Violets 86-59 in a UAA conference matchup at the John A. Paulson Center.

The loss drops Rochester to 8-9 overall on the season and moves the Yellowjackets back to .500 in conference play at 3-3 through six games. NYU, who snapped UR’s 3-game winning streak, remains unbeaten on the year, pushing its record to 17-0 and 6-0 in the UAA.

NYU got off to a quick start, scoring the first nine points of the game. UR’s Abby Gress stopped the early Violets run with a jumper, but at the other end, NYU’s Morgan Morrison converted an and-one play to quickly get those points back.

Trailing 17-5 past the midway point of the opening quarter, UR scored six straight points to trim the deficit to six. Franki Gomez, Kat Jenks and Gress each scored a bucket inside during the spurt for the Yellowjackets.

The Violets scored the next eight points and regained the double-digit lead, with Rylee Drahos’floater in the lane ending the first quarter scoring with NYU up 25-13.

NYU dominated the second quarter, outscoring Rochester 27-12 to extend the lead.

Two Callie McCulley free throws started the period for UR, but NYU rattled off a 17-2 run over the next four minutes, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor during the stretch to reach a 25-point lead.

The hosts kept the pedal to the metal in the third quarter, limiting Rochester to just three field goals, eventually pushing its lead out even further. NYU meanwhile, hit 8-of-14 shots in the quarter.

In the fourth, Rochester got off to a quick start, scoring 10 of the first 13 points of the quarter. Tia Poulakidas and McCulley each had a pair of layups in the early run, while Hannah Lindemuth added a bucket.

Despite outscoring the Violets in the final quarter, the large gap in the score was too much to overcome for the Yellowjackets. Over the closing minutes, NYU regained its composure and finished off the victory, its fourth straight in the all-time series with Rochester.

Rochester’s leading scorers were McCulley and Gress who each finished with 11 points. Drahos added eight points while Gomez scored five. McCulley and Poulakidas led the team with four rebounds each.

Reigning UAA Player of the Year Natalie Bruns led the Violets with a game-high 20 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Morrison and Belle Pellecchia each scored 14 points, with Pellecchia finishing with eight rebounds and four steals in her stat line.

UR was finished the game shooting 42% (23-for-55) but was held without a 3-pointer for the first time in December of 2011, a span of 294 games. NYU wrapped up the victory with a 52% shooting mark (35-for-67), made 47% (7-for-15) from distance and forced 21 UR turnovers.

Up next for Rochester, the Yellowjackets travel to Waltham, Massachusetts for a Sunday afternoon conference matchup with Brandeis University starting at 2 pm.