After last weekend’s tough 57-47 loss at New York University, the women’s basketball team look to get their first University Athletic Association win of the season this weekend with games at Carnegie Mellon University today and the University of Rochester, ranked 21st in the country by D3hoops.com, Sunday.
Some food for thought before this weekend’s double header:
Carnegie Mellon, currently tied for last place in the UAA with a 7-5 overall record, is coming off a close 71-68 win Monday against Bethany College. Whether or not they can carry this momentum into tonight’s game (6 p.m. start time) is of course yet to be determined, but if the matchup is anything like last year’s games against Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon should be prepared for a tough battle. The Judges swept the Tartans last year, beating them by at least 25 points in each of the two contests.
Interestingly enough, CMU only has one first-year on its roster this season, so it’s returning most of last year’s team. Junior point guard Stacie Aleski returns and is averaging 14 points per game thus far. Classmate and forward Rachelle Roll, who did not play last year due to injury, leads the squad with an average of 7.6 rebounds per game and has contributed a team-high 40 assists and 9 blocks thus far.
The Judges will face #21 Rochester Sunday at 2 p.m. Rochester, which has won 9 straight games and boasts an 11-1 record as of today, is in second place behind NYU in the UAA. Its only loss thus far came November 20th against #20 Medaille College by a score of 67-51.
Last year, the Judges split decisions against Rochester, with each team winning at home. This year, Rochester is paced by junior forward/center Julie Marriott, who is averaging 12.7 points per game. Marriott placed second on the team in scoring and rebounding last year during the Yellowjackets’ run to the NCAA Sweet 16, where they lost to Bowdoin College.
The Judges, who started out 1-2 against UAA teams last year but took off from there to finish with a 9-5 conference record, will have to look sharp this weekend in both matchups in order to match or beat last year’s UAA start.
