Women's Basketball Outlasts Howard, 80-68

Tuesday, December 30

Ames, Iowa

6 pm

Brown University

4-8, 0-0Ivy

Howard

1-13, 1-1MEAC

Howard

Brown

12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

AMES, Iowa – A balanced scoring attack and a pivotal second half response helped pace the Brown women's basketball team to an 80-68 win over Howard in the consolation game of the 2014 Cyclone Challenge at Hilton Coliseum.

The Bears (4-8) split the two-game set in Ames thanks to a season high 15 steals, dropping the Lady Bison to 1-13 overall this season.

Freshman Kennedy Martin (Los Angeles, Calif.) posted career highs of seven points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of action, while Sophie Bikofsky (Newton, Mass.) led the Bears with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Eight Bears found the scoring column on Tuesday, including Ellise Sharpe (Tipp City, Ohio), Jordin Alexander (Fishers, Ind.), and Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.), who all posted double figures.

Musgrove's acrobatic three-point play helped cool off a Howard run that saw the Lady Bison draw back within one point with 14 minutes to play. The sophomore point guard's key bucket opened the door for a 10-0 Brown after strong play on the offensive glass from freshman Kennedy Martin kept possessions alive for the Bears.

After Howard drew within six, Bikofsky's pull up in the lane and Alexander's trey from the top of the key pushed the Bears lead back up to 11 with under 10 minutes to play.

Howard's Victoria Gonzales sparked a late 11-2 run that brought the Lady Bison back within two points at 62-60 with 5:52 to play. With their backs against the wall, the Bears responded with a crucial 8-0 run, aided by steals from Musgrove, Sharpe, and Alexander.

Brown salted the game away down the stretch with an impressive 8-of-8 showing from the charity stripe.

A season best 43.5-percent performance from the field and 15 assists on 27 field goals boosted Brown on Tuesday.

The Bears rushed out to an early 12-6 lead on the strength of three steals in the opening minutes. The offense continued to click early on as Reilly found White on a slick feed at the 15-minute mark for the freshman's first points of the tournament.

Bikofsky continued her assault from behind the three-point arc in the first half, connecting on two of three tries from long range.

A 9-0 run, capped by a trio of three-point plays by White, Bikofsky, and Alexander gave the Bears their largest lead of the half at 11 with 4:16 to play. A smothering defense in the opening stanza opened the door for 10 Brown steals, nearly matching their season high of 11 in just 20 minutes of action.

After Sydni Johnson got the Lady Bison back within six, Sharpe drew contact and connected on one of two from the stripe to give Brown a 37-30 lead heading into the locker room.

The Bears return to action on Sunday as they travel down to Baltimore to battle Morgan State beginning at 2 p.m.