Brown University
7-4
VCU
7-7
Women's Basketball Falls at Virginia Commonwealth, 85-72
12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. – Sophomore guard Taylor Will led four Bears in double figures with 18 points, but Brown University women's basketball fell at Virginia Commonwealth University, 85-72, on Thursday afternoon at E.J. Wade Arena.
The Bears (7-4) remained within two possessions of the host Rams (7-7) early in the fourth quarter before VCU pulled ahead 73-60 with 7:24 to play and maintained an eight-point advantage for the duration.
Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) connected on 6-of-10 field goals and 2-of-3 shots from 3-point distance while freshman guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted 16 points.
Sophomore guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) registered 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and sophomore forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) totaled 15 points and five rebounds.
Will and Mehta each scored in double figures for the 10th time in 11 games this season.
VCU controlled the game through interior play, holding advantages in rebounds (50-25), offensive rebounds (23-8), and points in the paint (52-26).
Brown took a 17-11 lead at the 4:46 mark of the first quarter as Steeves, junior Megan Reilly (Norwood, N.J.), and Will all connected on 3-pointers. After a Gaziano jumper kept the Bears up 19-13, VCU closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to bring a 24-21 lead into the second period.
Mehta knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first 3:13 of the second stanza to make the score 31-28 VCU. In the final two minutes of the half, four straight points in the paint from Steeves and a conventional 3-point play from Mehta trimmed the VCU lead to 43-42 with 46.6 seconds to go in the half before the Rams brought a 45-42 edge into the locker room.
A step-back 3-pointer from Will and a fast break layup from Mehta helped Brown pull within 49-48 with 5:18 left in the third quarter. Gaziano scored four consecutive points to make it 59-56 with 22 seconds left in the third prior to VCU taking a 61-56 edge into the fourth quarter.
Despite a Mehta jumper, VCU used a 14-4 run to pull ahead 73-60 with 7:24 remaining. Will scored Brown's next seven points, including on a 3-point play, to trim the deficit to 75-67 with 6:02 to go, but the Bears could pull no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
For VCU, Curteeona Brelove posted a double-double on game highs in points (19) and rebounds (14), Isis Thorpe scored 15 points, and Keira Robinson totaled 13 points and seven boards.
Next, Brown plays at Morgan State on Saturday, Dec. 31 at noon.
Video of all Brown women's basketball home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ILDN.TV/BROWN.
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.
