Women’s Basketball Defeats Fairfield in Opener of Turkey Tip-Off, 68-49

Friday, November 23

Providence, R.I.

4:00 PM

Brown University

4-2

Fairfield

2-2

Fairfield

Brown

Women’s Basketball Defeats Fairfield in Opener of Turkey Tip-Off, 68-49

11/23/2018 6:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Tournament Central

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Shayna Mehta tallied 19 points and six assists, senior forward Erika Steeves posted her first double-double of the season on 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Brown University women's basketball defeated Fairfield University, 68-49, on Friday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

In the opening game of the 2018 Brown University Turkey Tip-Off Presented by Elite Physical Therapy, the Bears (4-2) outscored the visiting Stags (2-2), by a 41-20 margin in the second half to overcome a 29-27 halftime deficit and earn their third straight win.

"In the second half we did a much better job moving the ball," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We made a few more free throws in the second half, had better teamwork on offense, and did a better job disrupting some of their sets."

With her 19 points, Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) moved into fourth place on Brown's all-time scoring list with 1,407 career points, passing Christa Champion '86 (1,393 points). She becomes the fourth student-athlete in program history to eclipse the 1,400-career-point mark. Against Fairfield, she tied her career high with six assists and hit 8-of-17 field goals.

Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) registered her first double-double of the season and the 16^th of her career with her 14 points and 10 rebounds. She connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) tallied 12 points, six rebounds, and three steals, junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted 10 points, freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a season-high eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, and senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) corralled seven rebounds.

For the game, Brown held advantages in points in the paint (34-16), second-chance points (12-4), and points off turnovers (12-4). The Bears committed just nine turnovers, while forcing the Stags into 17 giveaways.

In game two, Bucknell (3-2) bested Massachusetts (3-2), 77-58. Abby Kapp led all scorers with 19 points, and the Bison hit 14-of-30 shots (46.7 percent) from behind the arc. Bre Hampton-Bey paced the Minutewomen with 13 points.

In the first quarter, four straight points from Mehta cut Fairfield's early lead to 16-12 before the Stags took a 23-16 edge at the end of the opening stanza.

Steeves and Mehta each connected on 3-pointers to bring Brown within 26-22 with 3:51 to go in the second quarter. Another 3-pointer from Mehta helped the Bears close the half on an 11-3 run and whittle the visitors' lead to 29-27 at the break. The Bears limited the Stags to 18.2-percent shooting (2-of-11) in the second quarter after Fairfield shot 71.4 percent (10-of-14) in the first.

A layup from Steeves gave Brown a 35-33 lead – its first of the game – with 4:45 to play in the third quarter before a second-chance basket from Breedlove capped a 10-2 run that allowed the Bears to move ahead 39-35. Will hit a corner 3-pointer and converted a layup to highlight a 7-0 burst that gave Brown a 46-38 edge. The Bears remained ahead 47-40 heading to the fourth quarter.

Buckets from Mehta, Steeves, and Breedlove helped Brown stay in the lead, 55-45, with 8:02 remaining. After Fairfield pulled within 56-49, the Bears held the Stags scoreless over the final 6:21, outscoring the visitors 12-0. Five points in a 49-second span from Gaziano, including a corner 3-pointer, highlighted the run. Brown shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) in the fourth quarter.

For Fairfield, Khadidiatou Diouf posted 15 points on 7-of-10 field goals and nine rebounds, Sam Lewis notched 11 points and seven rebounds, and Sam Kramer dished out five assists.

Next, Brown continues play at the Turkey Tip-Off tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 24, against Massachusetts at 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+). Game two on Saturday features Bucknell and Fairfield tipping off at 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

Game Notes:
Shayna Mehta moved into seventh place on Brown's career field goals made list with 516 career made field goals. She passed Nyema Mitchell '04 (509 career made field goals). Mehta has scored in double figures in all six games this year and 73 times in her career … Justine Gaziano has scored in double figures in five of six games this season and in 49 career games … Erika Steeves and Taylor Will scored in double figures for the 47^th and 34^th times in their respective careers … Brown improved to 2-6 all-time vs. Fairfield. The Bears earned their first win over the Stags since Nov. 18, 2005.

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.