The University of Rochester women's basketball team mounted a miraculous comeback, rallying from ten points down in the final two minutes, to stun host Brandeis University 67-64 in a University Athletic Association conference matchup on Sunday afternoon at Red Auerbach Arena.
URochester's win earned head coach Jim Scheible his 600th all-time victory, spanning 35 seasons as a Division III head coach. He becomes the 14th active Division III coach to reach that milestone and has spent 27 seasons on the River Campus, compiling 459 wins with the Yellowjackets alone.
Overall in the frantic fourth quarter, the Yellowjackets (8-6, 1-2 UAA) outscored the Judges by 15 points, leading 30 to 15 over the final ten minutes. That included a 13-2 burst over the final 44 seconds, with UR scoring the final nine points of the contest.
After a URochester technical foul gave Brandeis (11-3, 1-2 UAA) free throws and possession with 2:09 left, Abby Kennedy ended up making 2-of-4 from the charity stripe to put the Judges up 60-50 on the scoreboard.
The teams traded empty possessions after that before the 'Jackets started the comeback with a Melis Alparslan jumper. Alparslan then stole the inbounds and secured a layup for four quick points, trimming the lead down to six with 1:17 remaining.
Brandeis' Katherine Vaughan made a layup to add to the Judges score, but a quick bucket by Grace Corelli made the score 62-56 with 44 ticks left.
Corelli had 11 points in the final minute.
The Judges were unable to get the ball inbounded on their next possession, turning the ball back over the URochester, with Corelli again streaking to the basket for a layup, making the lead four points while only trimming four seconds off the clock.
A UR foul sent Vaughan to the free throw line, boosting the lead back out to six with 31 seconds left.
The Yellowjackets followed by calling timeout and advanced the ball to the frontcourt, with Scheible drawing up a terrific play to set up Corelli for a big-time 3-pointer. The sophomore swished it through and made it a one possession contest.
Rochester fouled again, and this time got a pair of misses, to allow the Yellowjackets a chance to potentially tie. Another timeout and stellar play drawn up yielded another Corelli layup to cut the lead to one.
Brandeis was frantic on the next inbounds play and signaled for a timeout, which it did not have, eventually getting whistled for a technical foul. The tech gave Rochester two free throws and the ball, allowing the game to completely flip the other way.
Franki Gomez stepped to the line and sank both free throws to give the 'Jackets a one-point lead, and with Rochester retaining possession, the Judges were now forced to foul, sending Corelli to the free throw line for two. Corelli made both with 20 seconds remaining to put the Yellowjackets up three.
On its final possession, Brandeis could not muster any good looks at a 3-pointer, with the Yellowjacket defense only surrendering a desperation 30-foot heave by Sofia Berisha as time expired, with the last-ditch effort missing the rim and clanging off the backboard.
"I am so proud of our team and all the players, assistants and staff that have contributed here at Rochester," said Scheible after earning win number 600. "This is very much their milestone as well. We are all very fortunate to represent this great University."
On Sunday, the Yellowjackets got off to a strong start, leading 16-8 after a Claire Groenewoud 3-pointer with under 30 seconds left in the opening quarter. After ten minutes of play, URochester held a 7-point lead, up 16-11.
Brandeis flipped the script in the second quarter on the strength of some strong 3-point shooting, outscoring Rochester 24-10 to take a 35-26 lead at intermission. In the second, the Judges were 5-of-7 from distance, while also limiting the 'Jackets to 4-for-13 shooting overall.
Rochester's cold shooting continue into the third quarter, with the Brandeis lead stretching out to 16 points following a Vaughan tip-in with 3:20 left. That capped a 12-5 run to start the quarter, making the score 47-31 in favor of the home Judges.
Hazell Nickerson had a layup on the next Yellowjacket possession and Rochester scored six of the final eight points of the third to make it a 12-point game heading into the final period.
In the fourth, Gomez hit a jump shot and Groenewoud hit an old-fashioned 3-point play to quickly trim the lead to seven, just over a minute in.
Brandeis was able to reset and get the lead back to double-digits for the next several minutes before the furious ending from the Yellowjackets allowed the comeback to commence over the final 120 seconds.
Corelli ended up leading the Yellowjackets with 16 points on the day. Both Tia Poulakidas and Groenewoud finished with 11 points, while Gomez chipped in ten. Alparslan led the 'Jacket bench with seven points, also contributing four steals.
Brandeis' Abby Kennedy led all players with 26 games, while Vaughan finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points while securing ten rebounds.