Mount Holyoke Drops Season Opener at #14 Brandeis, 77-38

WALTHAM, Mass. (Nov. 16, 2007) - The Mount Holyoke College women's basketball team suffered a 77-38 loss in its season opener at Brandeis University this evening in the first round of the Brandeis Tip-Off Tournament.

With the win, the 14th-ranked Judges (1-0, 0-0 UAA) advanced to tomorrow's championship tilt. They will face off against the winner of tonight's second contest between Wesleyan University and Kenyon College tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (0-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will take on the loser in the consolation game at noon.

Four players reached double digits in the scoring column for Brandeis. Sophomore guard Jessica Chapin (Mendon, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) led the way with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. The Judges also received a boost from junior center Lauren Orlando (Peabody, Mass./Peabody), who tallied 12 points. Classmate Amanda Wells (Loudon, N.H./Merrimack Valley) posted 11 points, while first year Amber Strodhoff (DePere, Wisc./DePere) added ten points and a team-best six rebounds for the hosts.

Mount Holyoke received an outstanding effort from sophomore Jess Olson (Gilbert, Ariz./Highland), who notched a double-double on 19 points and 13 boards, both game highs. The forward shot 7-of-14 from the field and drained three treys. Sophomore center Kate Shafir (Newton, Mass./Beaver Country Day) collected seven points, and classmate Erin Cain (Quincy, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) chipped in with five.

Orlando tallied the fist nine points of the game for the Judges, who built a 9-4 edge less than three minutes into the contest. Brandeis led 16-6 midway through the opening frame, but Mount Holyoke scored the next seven points to slice the deficit to 16-13 at the 7:41 mark.

From there, it was all Brandeis. The hosts closed out the half with a 19-11 run to take a 35-22 edge into the locker room. They outscored the Lyons 42-16 after the break to seal things.

Game Statistics

Permanent link to this story: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/stories/5483592