Brown University
12-7, 0-5
Cornell
12-7, 4-1
Four Hit Double-Figures, Women's Hoops Falls at Cornell, 85-70
2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Jordin Alexander led four Bears in double figures with 19 points, but Brown University women's basketball fell at Cornell University, 85-70, on Friday night at Newman Arena.
The Bears (12-7, 0-5 Ivy) claimed a 41-37 lead at halftime, but the host Big Red (12-7, 4-1 Ivy) used a 20-5 run spanning the second and third quarters to change momentum in the game.
"We had a good first half and moved the ball pretty well," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "In the second half, the third quarter really hurt us where obviously the numbers speak for themselves. We know that it's hard to beat teams on the road. We just need to learn to handle the adversity a little bit better when teams make runs on us."
The two teams played within two possessions of one another throughout the first 26 minutes before Cornell went ahead 54-46 with 3:29 to play in the third quarter. The Big Red outscored Brown 27-11 in the third.
Alexander (Fishers, Ind.) scored in double-figures for the 17th time this season on 7-of-12 shooting and added six assists and four rebounds. Junior Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.) netted 17 points, her 12th game in double-figures, and hit four 3-pointers.
Freshman Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled 13 points, a team-high seven rebounds, five steals, and four assists while classmate Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) posted 11 points.
In the first half, Alexander, Mehta, and Musgrove combined to score 36 of Brown's 41 points. The trio connected on 14-of-23 field goals (60.9 percent) and 6-of-10 shots from 3-point distance.
The two sides went back and forth in the first quarter with Musgrove and Mehta each hitting 3-pointers inside of the first 3:40 to keep Brown within 12-9. Back-to-back driving layups from Alexander and Mehta cut the visitors' deficit to 15-13 with 3:56 to go in the quarter. A Mehta corner trey and an Alexander mid-range jumper gave Brown a one-point lead twice before Cornell took a 21-20 edge after the first frame.
A transition 3-pointer from Musgrove and a driving lay-in from Mehta allowed Brown to remain within 28-27 of the Big Red three minutes into the second quarter. Musgrove connected on a 3-pointer to put the Bears up 32-30 and canned another to push Brown ahead 35-33 with 3:35 to play in the half.
Alexander converted on a driving layup capped a 14-5 run and staked the Bears to a 41-35 lead with under a minute left in the half, and Brown brought a 41-37 edge into the locker room.
The Big Red opened the second half on a 10-1 run to pull ahead 47-42 just under four minutes into the third quarter. An Alexander jumper in the lane stemmed the run, but Cornell completed its 20-5 streak to gain a 55-46 edge with 2:52 left in the third. Cornell took its first double-digit lead at 60-50 and led 64-52 heading into the final frame.
Mehta opened the fourth quarter with a wing 3-pointer to cut the margin to 64-55, but Cornell built its lead to 14 points, 72-58, midway through the period. A Steeves triple and back-to-back steal and scores helped Brown come within 76-68 with 73 seconds left before the hosts closed the win.
For Cornell, Nia Marshall scored a game-high 23 points with nine rebounds. Kerri Moran (19 points), Megan LeDuc (13), and Nicholle Ahston (12) all finished in double-fiugres.
Next, Brown plays at Columbia tomorrow at 6 p.m.
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.
