Bears Hold Off for 61-54 Win Against Cornell

Saturday, February 6

Providence, R.I.

7 pm

Brown University

Cornell

Bears Hold Off for 61-54 Win Against Cornell

2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Providence, RI- Brown sophomore Hannah Passafuime (Soquel, CA) led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the women's basketball team to a 61-54 victory over the Cornell Big Red this evening at the Pizzitola Sports Center. The win improves Brown's record to 6-14 overall, including a 3-3 mark in Ivy League play, while Cornell drops to 5-14 and 0-6 in the Ancient Eight.

Despite Cornell taking a 24-23 halftime lead, the Bears rallied back in the second half to outscore the Big Red 38-30 en route to its third Ivy win of the season. Cornell's Allie Fedorowicz added nine points and Allie Munson brought down five rebounds to help the Big Red to its halftime lead, but it was Passafuime's great offensive effort and Natalie Bonds' (Taveres, FL) big defensive play (12 rebounds and five steals) to help Bruno come away with the win.

The Big Red jumped out to a lead from the start and had as much as a seven point advantage after the first 10 minutes of play, but the feisty Bears chipped away at its deficit and eventually gained a lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first stanza.

Passafuime hit a three pointer to bring the Bears within one of the Big Red, 20-19, and sophomore forward Aileen Daniels (Waldwick, NJ) followed with a jump shot to give Brown its first lead of the night at the 3:36 mark. Brown increased the advantage to 23-20 with a layup by senior Christina Johnson, but two free throws by Allie Fedorowicz gave Cornell a one-point edge heading into the locker room at the half.

Cornell scored the first bucket of the second half, but senior guard Christina Johnson (Oakland, CA) came back down the floor and hit a jumper and Bonds made one of two free throws to give Brown a 27-26 lead over the Big Red.

A layup by Bonds gave the Bears a 33-31 lead at the 14:42 mark, but Cornell's Clare Fitzpatrick hit a jumper in the paint to tie it back up. The teams exchanged baskets the next few times down the floor, but Brown held a 40-39 lead with 10:49 left in the game.

Tied up at 41 for over four minutes, Bonds broke the silence with a free throw to give the Bears a one-point lead, but Cornell's Fedorowicz hit a jumper to take it right back. Bonds came back down the floor and made a layup and converted the free throw after the foul to take a 45-43 lead, however, a free throw by Cornell brought the squad back within one with four minutes left in the game.

Daniels drained a big three for Bruno with 3:05 left to give Brown a 50-45 advantage, but a Cornell free throw cut it back down to four with 2:37 on the clock. Brown's Lindsay Nickel (Los Altos, CA) put in a jumper from the free throw line, but the Bears picked up a foul down on the other end to send Allie Munson to the line to make one of two to bring the score to 52-47 with 1:56 left.

The Bears built a 55-47 lead with 1:17 to go, but the Big Red came back within four after back-to-back buckets by Fedorowicz, as she registered a team-high 20 points. The Bears gained a 10-point lead, its largest of the night, with 11 seconds remaining in the game after two free throws by Passafuime, but Cornell's three pointer by Lauren Benson with three seconds left cut it to seven to end the game in Brown's favor, 61-54.

The Bears ended shooting 33 percent from the floor, had just 12 turnovers and out-rebounded Cornell 45-37 in tonight's Ivy League action. The Bears also forced the Big Red into 19 turnovers, with Bonds leading the way with five steals, and Lindsay Nickel dished out three assists in her 24 minutes played.

While Passafuime led the offense with 22 points, which included a 9-of-11 performance from the charity stripe, Bonds recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds, and also had five steals, two blocks, and two assists. Johnson also had a solid night, chipping in with 11 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes.

Allie Fedorowicz led Cornell with 20 points, while Clare Fitzpatrick added 12 points. Allie Munson led the Big Red on the boards with 10.

The Bears are back in action next weekend when it travels to Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 12 for a 7:00 p.m. game and then Harvard on Feb. 13 for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off.