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Over the weekend, the Brandeis women’s basketball team suffered losses at the hands of Washington University in St. Louis and University of Chicago. The losses, by margins of 17 and 28 respectively, put the Judges at a record of 7-9 overall, including 0-5 in University Athletic Association games. The struggling Judges have now lost five-straight games, all to UAA opponents.

The Judges headed into Washington to face the 7th-ranked Bears, looking to win their first UAA game. In the first half, Brandeis was able to stay close to the Bears due to good defense, as well as excellent play by forward Samantha Anderson ’13. The Judges, however, went just 3-of-8 from the free-throw line in the first half, while the Bears were 12-for-20. The Judges shot 41 percent from the floor and went into the locker room down 33-26.

In the second half, the Judges could not find a rhythm offensively, shooting just 29 percent from the field on 6-of-21 shooting, while missing all four of their three-point attempts. The Judges did get to the line 10 times but only made four of those 10 free-throw attempts, and in the final 12 minutes of play connected on only two shots from the floor.

For the game, the Judges went just 1-for-9 from beyond the arc, while the Bears made eight of their 15 three-point attempts. Furthermore, the Judges went just 7-for-18 from the free-throw line, while the Bears made 23 of their 34 free-throw attempts. The Judges were also out-rebounded 39-27 for the game.

Anderson played 19 minutes for the Judges, leading the team with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, and five rebounds. Guard Hannah Cain ’15 added four points, while Kelly Ethier ’12 led the Judges with four assists. Washington University improved to 13-2 on the year, including 3-1 in UAA conference play.

The Judges headed into Sunday’s matchup with the University of Chicago hoping to put an end to their losing streak. The Judges stuck close to the second-ranked Maroons throughout the first eight minutes of the game, which saw four lead changes and two ties. After the game was tied at 18, however, the Maroons went on a 22-8 run to end the half and keep control of the game for good.

The Judges shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. They missed all five of their free-throw attempts, however, and turned the ball over 10 times, while the Maroons finished the half with only three turnovers. The Judges went into the locker room at the half, down 39-25.

Over the first nine minutes of the second half, the Maroons went on a 19-2 run, putting the Judges in a huge hole. Chicago had gone on a 41-10 run over the final 12 minutes of the first half and first nine minutes of the second half combined, putting the game out of reach at a score of 58-27 with just 11 minutes left in the game.

While the Judges would outscore Chicago 21-16 the rest of the way on 10 points from guard Morgan Kendrew ’12, the game was well out of reach. Brandeis missed all eight of its three-point attempts in the second half, and shot just 21 percent from the field.

The Judges loss can be attributed to the fact that they were out-rebounded by an enormous margin of 50-29. In addition, Chicago was able to get to the line often and consistently made its free-throw attempts, going 25-for-29 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Judges finished 11-for-20 from the line. The Judges went 3-for-11 from the three-point range, while the Maroons went 7-for-23.

Kendrew led Brandeis offensively with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, and made all five of her free-throw attempts. Guard Diana Cincotta M.A. ’12 scored 10 points and added five rebounds, while forward Shannon Hassan ’12 added eight points off the bench.

Additionally, with her three-pointer in the game, Kendrew became just the fifth player in women’s basketball program history to have 100 three-pointers. With nine games remaining on the season, Kendrew has the opportunity to move further up in the Judges’ record books.

The Judges, who have nine games remaining this season, hope they can turn things around quickly. This year the Judges have begun games well by getting off to good starts, but have faltered in the second half.

They will face Case Western Reserve University at home at 6 p.m. on Friday.