Mehta’s Career-High 34 Points Lead Women’s Basketball Past Holy Cross, 89-85

Sunday, November 18

Worcester, Mass.

12:00 PM

Brown University

3-2

Holy Cross

1-2

Brown

Holy Cross

Mehta’s Career-High 34 Points Lead Women’s Basketball Past Holy Cross, 89-85

11/18/2018 3:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior guard Shayna Mehta scored a career-high 34 points, hitting 12-of-20 field goals and 6-of-9 3-pointers, to lead Brown University women's basketball to an 89-85 win over Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon at the Hart Center.

Trailing 83-80 with 3:15 to play, the Bears (3-2) outscored the Crusaders (1-2), 9-2, down the stretch in a game that saw 10 ties and eight lead changes, including seven ties and six lead changes in the second half.

"This was a big win to keep our momentum going forward," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "I knew this would be a tough game. We knew that Lauren Manis and Avery LaBarbera would be tough. They have a great inside-out presence and are well-coached. We continued to build what we started against UNH on Thursday."

Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) scored over 30 points for the third time in her career and went over 20 points for the 24^th time. With her 34 points, Mehta now has 1,388 career points, moving into fifth place on Brown's all-time list and passing Liz Turner '98 (1,358 points) and Sarah Hayes '06 (1,377 points). Her 34 points tied for the seventh most in a single game in Brown history.

She now has 206 career made 3-pointers, climbing to second all-time at Brown and 10^th all-time in Ivy League history, passing Lauren Clarke '14 (203 career 3-pointers) on both lists. Mehta added four assists and three steals on Sunday.

"Today was our best game by far on offense, and on defense we played a lot harder," Behn said. "The effort was better, and our energy off the bench was better. Haley Green and Traiva Breedlove gave us nice contributions. We have a long way to go, but I feel a lot better after this game than I did after Bryant or BU."

Junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted 23 points on 8-of-15 field goals and 3-of-6 shots from 3-point distance, while grabbing six rebounds. She registered her third 20-point game of the season and 22^nd of her career.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) totaled a season-high 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. She connected on 2-of-5 shots from behind the arc. Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) posted eight points, six rebounds, and three assists.

Senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) notched six points and six rebounds while junior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) and freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) each corralled five rebounds.

The Bears held a 44-33 rebounding advantage and connected on 14-of-32 shots from 3-point range (43.8 percent). Brown led in points off turnovers, 22-12.

The Bears connected on 6-of-8 shots from 3-point distance in the first quarter to stake themselves to a 26-23 edge at the end of one. Butler, Mehta, and Steeves all hit 3-pointers in the opening five minutes to put Brown up 13-10. Back-to-back treys from Gaziano and Mehta allowed Brown to regain a 23-21 advantage, and another 3-pointer from Mehta gave Brown a 26-23 lead at the end of the period.

Gaziano opened the second quarter with a triple before a steal-and-score from Mehta and 3-pointer from Steeves extended Brown's lead to 40-33 with 4:20 left in the half. Mehta knocked down a wing 3-pointer at the 2:10 mark to make the score 45-39, and the Bears remained ahead 46-39 at halftime.

In the first half, Brown shot 54.5 percent from the field (18-of-33) and 64.3 percent from 3-point range (9-of-14), while holding a 12-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

A step-back 3-pointer from Gaziano gave Brown a 51-44 edge early in the third quarter, and two free throws from Mehta kept the Bears ahead 58-54 with 3:10 left in the stanza. The Crusaders then used an 11-3 run to pull ahead 65-61. A pair of free throws from Green helped Brown pull within 67-64 heading to the fourth quarter.

Will scored Brown's first five points of the fourth quarter, evening the score at 69-69. A wing 3-pointer from Mehta pushed Brown back ahead, 72-71, with 7:51 remaining. Another trey from Mehta gave the visitors a 76-71 lead before the Crusaders used an 8-0 run to pull ahead 79-76 with 4:41 left.

Buckets from Mehta and Steeves allowed Brown to regain an 80-79 advantage, but Holy Cross responded with four points to take an 83-80 lead. Will countered with a triple from the top of the key, knotting the score at 83-83 with 3:01 left. A fast-break layup from Mehta and a combination of free throws from Mehta and Gaziano inside of the final 2:31 sealed the win.

For Holy Cross, Avery LaBarbera scored 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting with nine assists and five steals, and Lauren Manis – the Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year – notched a double-double on 27 points and 16 rebounds.

Next, Brown hosts the Brown University Turkey Tip-Off from Nov. 23-25. The Bears will meet Fairfield (Nov. 23, 4:00 p.m.), Massachusetts (Nov. 24, 2:00 p.m.), and Bucknell (Nov. 25, 1:00 p.m.) with all six games at the multi-team event set for ESPN+.

Video of all Brown women's basketball home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

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.

Game Notes:
Senior guard Shayna Mehta tied her career high with 12 field goals made and connected on five or more 3-pointers in a game for the 14^th time in her career. She has scored in double figures in all five games this season and in 72 games in her career … Junior guard Justine Gaziano and senior guard Taylor Will scored in double figures for the 48^th and 33^rd times in their careers respectively … Brown beat Holy Cross by a four-point margin for the second straight year. The Bears defeated the Crusaders, 82-78, on Nov. 29, 2017 … Brown hit 14 shots from 3-point distance – two treys shy of tying the school record … Six different Bears grabbed at least five rebounds.