Brown University
9-4
Rhode Island College
4-9
Women's Hoops Tops RIC before 1,567 Fans on Education Day, 90-44
1/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman guard Justine Gaziano scored a career-high 30 points to lead Brown University women's basketball to a 90-44 win over Rhode Island College before 1,567 fans on Education Day on Monday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
In their non-conference finale, the Bears (9-4) held a 30-5 lead over the visiting Anchorwomen (4-9) early in the second quarter and carried an edge of 24 points or greater throughout the second half. Brown has now won seven of its last eight games.
Prior to the game, the local elementary and middle school students in attendance heard from a variety of professionals, ranging from WPRI meteorologist Michelle Muscatello and a police K-9 unit to Brown head coach Sarah Behn and junior captain Megan Reilly (Norwood, N.J.). The Bears played in front of the seventh-largest crowd in program history.
"Today's a great event for the children that came early for the whole program of the day, and we appreciate Rhode Island College participating in the event," Behn said. "It's a good chance for me to get a lot of kids some minutes. We do have some kids who are pretty versatile so we moved them around and tried out some things that could be helpful in Ivies."
Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) posted career highs for field goals made (11-for-17) and 3-pointers made (5-of-7) to go along with six rebounds.
Sophomore guards Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) each scored 11 points. Will contributed a game and career-high seven assists with six boards while Mehta sank 3-of-6 shots from 3-point distance in scoring in double figures for the 12th time in 13 games this year.
Freshman center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) posted career highs with nine rebounds and eight points, falling just shy of a double-double. Sophomore forward Melissa Heath (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.) grabbed a career-best seven boards alongside six points.
Freshman guard Abby O'Keefe (St. Louis, Mo.) netted eight points, sophomore forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) snared five rebounds, and freshman center Lames ElGammal (Baldwin, N.Y.) dished out a career-best four assists.
All 11 Bears that played in the game scored at least one point while Brown held advantages in points in the paint (32-14), points off turnovers (26-7), second-chance points (24-6), and fast break points (16-0).
After RIC scored the game's opening basket, Brown responded with a 20-0 run to take a 20-2 lead with 4:12 left in the first quarter. Six different Bears scored during the run with Gaziano tallying seven points. The Bears held a 28-5 lead after one quarter and went ahead 30-5 on a Will layup.
Brown took its largest lead of the first half, 33-7, on a 3-pointer from freshman Kathleen Ryan (Clarence Center, N.Y.) A pair of 3-pointers from freshman Randi Richardson (Flint, Mich.) and Will prior to a buzzer-beating jumper from Green gave the hosts a 46-21 advantage at the half.
Brown pushed its lead to 62-34 through three quarters after Gaziano connected on a 3-pointer from the corner just before the period's final horn.
Another triple from Gaziano capped a 20-5 run for the Bears as Brown led 79-38 with 6:06 to play. Mehta knocked down a pair of 3-pointers inside of the final 3:45 to give the Bears their final margin.
For RIC, Molly Phillips finished with nine points and six rebounds.
Next, Brown opens Ivy League play at Princeton on Friday, Jan. 13 at 5:30 p.m. and at Penn on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m.
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.
