Brown University
12-2
Rhode Island College
3-7
Women's Hoops Beats RIC, 90-35, before 1,890 Fans on Education Day
1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Natalie Ball scored a game-high 15 points, and Brown University women's basketball defeated Rhode Island College, 90-35, in front of a crowd of 1,890 fans on Education Day at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bears (12-2) concluded their non-conference slate against the visiting Anchorwomen (3-7) as part of the team's "What I Want to be Day" with more than 1,500 local elementary and middle school students in attendance.
Prior to the game, the students heard from a variety of professionals, including EMS personnel and a police K-9 unit, as well as from Brown head coach Sarah Behn and the Bears' captains.
"This game I thought was so well done by Mike Neely and our administration as far as getting local schools here," Behn said. "We strategically played against a local school. It wasn't really about the final score of the game. It was more about showing these kids a good day. They learned a lot about different things they could do, as they get older. It's fun to have a packed gym and do something like this once a year."
The crowd of 1,890 fans stands as the third-largest crowd in program history. Brown attracted a school-record crowd of 2,034 vs. Harvard on Feb. 26, 2005 and welcomed 1,989 fans vs. Harvard on Feb. 13, 2004.
Brown finished its non-conference schedule with 12 non-league wins – the second most such victories in a single season in school history. The Bears posted 13 non-league wins in the 1974-75 season.
Senior Jordin Alexander (Fishers, Ind.) netted 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting with three assists and three steals while Ball (Orlando, Fla.) shot 7-of-9 from the field and added four rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded 12 points and five steals, and junior Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.) totaled 12 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore Janie White compiled eight points and eight boards, classmate Megan Reilly added a game-high seven assists and eight points, and freshmen Melissa Heath (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.) and Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) registered eight points and nine rebounds respectively.
The Bears opened the game with a 24-3 edge behind a 22-0 run from the 8:18 mark of the first quarter until 20 seconds remained in the period. Alexander paced the team with six points during the run while Musgrove, Reilly, and White each hit 3-pointers during the streak.
In the opening quarter, Brown forced RIC into 10 turnovers and held the visitors without a field goal for close to eight minutes.
Mehta netted six of Brown's first 10 points as the hosts led 34-7 with 6:55 to go in the second quarter. Heath converted back-to-back buckets to push the Bears' edge to 32 points – their largest lead of the half – at 43-15 with 3:30 remaining in the half. An Alexander jumper helped Brown take a 47-17 lead at intermission.
Over the opening 20 minutes, the Bears forced 20 Anchorwomen turnovers and held advantages in points in the paint (20-2), points off turnovers (28-5), fast break points (14-0), and bench points (17-3).
Brown edged RIC, 16-14, in the third quarter with Ball (eight points) and Mehta (six points) scoring 14 of the team's 16 points in the stanza. Mehta knocked down two 3-pointers in the quarter.
The Bears won the fourth quarter, 27-4, and scored the first 22 points of the period as part of a 27-0 run beginning late in the third quarter. Nine different Bears scored during the run.
For Rhode Island College, Devil Hill logged team highs with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Next, Brown opens Ivy League play at Yale on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. (ESPN3). The Bears then host the Bulldogs the next weekend on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. (ESPN3) in their Ivy home opener.
Tickets for all Brown women's basketball games can be purchased online, by calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or by walking up to the box office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
