Brown University
14-11, 5-7Ivy
Harvard
20-5, 8-4Ivy
Steeves Scores 21, Women's Basketball Drops 66-63 Decision to Harvard
2/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sophomore forward Erika Steeves scored a team-high 21 points, but Brown University women's basketball dropped a 66-63 decision to Harvard University on Saturday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center in its final home game of the regular season.
The Bears (14-11, 5-7 Ivy) tied the game 59-59 with 1:44 left on a 3-point play from sophomore guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.), but a jumper in the paint from Katie Benzan and 5-of-6 free throw shooting in the final 20 seconds lifted the Crimson (20-5, 8-4 Ivy) to the win.
Brown's last four losses in Ivy League play have come by a combined 16 points with two possessions or fewer deciding contests against Penn (71-68), Princeton (81-75), Dartmouth (92-88 OT), and Harvard.
Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) scored 20 or more points for the third time this season and for the second time in the last four games while grabbing seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) tallied 16 points, four assists, and four rebounds, and freshman guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Junior forward Janie White (Clarksville, Tenn.) added a team-high nine rebounds with six points.
Benzan led all scorers with 24 points while Destiny Nunley (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Jeannie Boehm (12 points, 11 rebounds) both logged double-doubles.
Trailing 54-49 with 6:26 to go in the fourth quarter, Mehta netted five straight points, sinking a 3-pointer and mid-range jumper to tie it at 54-54 at the 5:01 mark. After Harvard went up 59-54, Gaziano made two free throws before Will's 3-point play knotted the score at 59-59 with 1:44 remaining.
Benzan hit a jumper in the paint with 43 seconds left to return the lead to Harvard, 61-59. The two teams traded free throws over the final 20 seconds before the Bears' push on the final possession fell short.
The Bears netted six straight points early in the second half to tie the game at 35-35. After the Crimson went up 41-35, Brown answered with an 8-0 run to pull ahead 43-41 with under a minute to play in the third. Harvard's Kelsey Bogdan then banked in two 3-pointers to give the visitors a 47-44 lead heading to the fourth.
After a Gaziano layup brought Brown within 20-17, an 11-2 Harvard run gave the visitors a 28-17 edge at the 6:32 mark of the second quarter. The Bears responded with a 12-2 run, holding the Crimson to one field goal over the next six minutes and trimming Harvard's margin to 30-29 with 1:34 left in the half. Steeves netted six points during the run while Mehta capped the streak with a steal and bucket in transition. Harvard took a 33-29 lead into the break.
Brown took an early 7-6 lead off a layup from Steeves before the Crimson used an 11-2 run to pull ahead 17-9 with 2:47 to go in the first quarter. The Bears scored the quarter's last six points including a Mehta jumper from the top of the key to cut their deficit to 17-15 heading to the second stanza.
For the game, Brown held Harvard to 33.3-percent shooting while the Crimson limited the Bears to 32.8-percent shooting.
Next, Brown closes out the regular season with road games at Columbia on Friday, Mar. 3 at 7:00 p.m. (ILDN/ESPN3) and at Cornell on Saturday, Mar. 4 at 5:00 p.m. (ILDN).
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.
