Brown University
14-9, 5-5Ivy
Princeton
13-9, 7-2Ivy
Women's Basketball's Comeback Falls Short against Princeton, 81-75
2/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 24 points, and sophomore guard Shayna Mehta netted 21 points, but Brown University women's basketball's comeback attempt fell short against Princeton University, 81-75, on Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.
The Bears (14-9, 5-5 Ivy) used a 16-5 run in the fourth quarter to whittle a 69-56 deficit with 6:31 left down to a 74-72 margin with 2:05 remaining, but the visiting Tigers (13-9, 7-2 Ivy) – winners of five of the last seven Ivy League titles – made a 3-point play and four free throws in the final 1:44 to hold on for the win.
Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) scored her 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc, and 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. After scoring 33 points against the Tigers in the two teams' first meeting, she is averaging 28.5 points per game against Princeton in her career.
Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) led Brown's fourth quarter rally with 11 points and three steals in the final frame while dishing out a career-high six assists in the game. Gaziano and Mehta eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the sixth and fourth times on the season respectively.
Sophomore guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) tallied 13 points, sophomore forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) posted nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, and sophomore forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) added six rebounds and three assists.
The Bears used a pressure defense to make up ground in the fourth quarter, forcing the Tigers into seven turnovers and coming up with six steals.
For Princeton, Leslie Robinson led four double-figure scorers with 17 points while Bella Alarie notched a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds. Gabrielle Rush and Taylor Brown netted 15 and 14 points respectively.
Brown and Princeton split the season series after the Bears earned their first road win at Princeton since March 1, 2003 with a 98-88 win on Jan. 13 of this year.
For the game, Princeton held advantages in points in the paint (40-20) and rebounds (44-33) while shooting 53.8-percent (7-of-13) from 3-point distance. As a team, Brown shot 16-of-20 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line while the Tigers connected on 7-of-13 (57.1 percent) of their shots from the charity stripe.
After Princeton went up 69-56 with 6:52 to play, Brown began its 16-5 run with eight straight points to pull within 69-64 at the 5:03 mark. Mehta scored five points during the run while Gaziano hit a 3-pointer.
Facing a 74-66 deficit with 3:56 left, Brown netted six consecutive points on free throws to cut the margin to 74-72 with 2:05 to go. A 3-point play from the Tigers gave them a 77-72 edge, but a 3-pointer from Mehta brought the Bears back within two points at 77-75 with 1:38 on the clock. Princeton then made four free throws in the final 1:10 to close the win.
Princeton opened the game with a 20-12 lead in the first quarter and carried a 22-17 edge into the second quarter. A Gaziano 3-pointer tied the game at 22-22 at the 9:18 mark of the second stanza, but a 12-2 run from the visitors put the Tigers up 34-24 with 6:30 to go until halftime.
Brown responded with a 13-3 run to knot the game back up at 37-37 with 2:19 to play in the first half as a 3-pointer from Steeves initiated the streak. Princeton brought a 41-39 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers extended their advantage to 52-41 with 5:38 left in the third quarter and maintained at least a seven-point edge until Brown made its 16-5 run behind a pressure defense.
Next, Brown hosts Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6:00 p.m. (ILDN/ESPN3) and Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4:00 p.m. (ILDN) in its final home games of the regular season.
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.
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