Brown University
10-5, 1-1
Penn
9-4, 3-0
Gaziano Scores Game-High 24, Women's Basketball Falls at Penn, 86-60
1/14/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Freshman guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 24 points, but Brown University women's basketball fell at the University of Pennsylvania, 86-60, on Saturday evening at the Palestra.
The Bears (10-5, 1-1 Ivy) remained tied with the Quakers (9-4, 3-0 Ivy) – the Ivy League's preseason favorites and winners of two of the last three Ivy titles – at 30-30 midway through the second quarter before the hosts closed the half on a 12-2 run and maintained a double-digit edge throughout the second half.
Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted her 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point distance. She scored 20 or more points for the fourth time in nine games this season.
In her first two career Ivy League contests, Gaziano averaged 28.5 points per game after leading Brown to a 98-88 victory over Princeton with a career-high 33 points on Friday night.
Sophomore forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) totaled 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists while sophomore guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) chipped in 10 points. Will and Steeves scored in double figures for the 13th and ninth times respectively this season.
Sophomore forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) added eight points, and sophomore guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
For the game, Penn connected on 55.7 percent of its field goals (34-of-61) and made 50.0 percent of its 3-point attempts (13-of-26).
Brown opened the game with an 11-9 lead after Gaziano sank her second 3-pointer of the contest just over five minutes into the first quarter. The Bears remained within 17-16 before the Quakers closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to bring a 25-18 edge into the second stanza.
After a Steeves triple opened the second quarter, Gaziano scored six straight points to cut the Bears' deficit to 28-27 at the 7:06 mark. Steeves knocked down another 3-pointer to tie it, 30-30, with 6:17 left in the half. Penn responded with its 12-2 run to take a 44-32 lead at the half.
The two teams traded baskets in the third quarter with a Gaziano 3-pointer pulling Brown within 52-41 midway through the frame. Butler converted three jump shots in a two-minute span to make it 65-49 prior to Penn taking a 67-49 edge into the fourth quarter.
The Quakers pushed their lead to 77-51 behind a 10-2 run to start the final frame, and the hosts held a lead over 20 points the rest of the way.
For Penn, Michelle Nwokedi posted a double-double on 11 points and 10 rebounds with five assists. Anna Ross scored a team-high 19 points with a game-high five assists, and Sydney Stipanovich finished with 17 points and seven boards.
Next, Brown hosts Yale on Friday, Jan. 20 at 5:30 p.m. (ILDN/ESPN3) in a doubleheader with the Bears' men's program at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
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.
