Gaziano Scores 1,000th Point, Women’s Hoops Drops 91-78 Decision to Bucknell

Sunday, November 25

Providence, R.I.

1:00 PM

Brown University

4-4

Bucknell

5-2

Bucknell

Brown

Gaziano Scores 1,000th Point, Women’s Hoops Drops 91-78 Decision to Bucknell

11/25/2018 4:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Tournament Central Tournament Stats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Shayna Mehta scored 29 points, and junior guard Justine Gaziano netted 21 points – including her 1,000^th career point – but Brown University women's basketball dropped a 91-78 decision to Bucknell University on Sunday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

In their final game at the 2018 Brown University Turkey Tip-Off Presented by Elite Physical Therapy, the Bears (4-4) held a 48-43 lead at halftime and remained within 82-78 with 1:38 left before the visiting Bison (5-2) – the No. 17 ranked team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll – closed the game on a 9-0 run.

"Bucknell is a very good team that just beat us," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "They won 22 games last year, have a nice inside presence, and are well coached. They are as good as an Ivy team. We played very hard and competed. We fought hard and couldn't quite catch a break when we needed it. After yesterday, I am happy with the way that we competed today."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) became the 21^st 1,000-point scorer in program history and the sixth Bear to score 1,000 points prior to her senior year. She scored her 1,000^th point in her 58^th career game and now has 1,007 career points, ranking 20^th all-time at Brown and passing Trish Wurtz '82 (1,002 points). Against Bucknell, she made 9-of-18 field goals and 3-of-5 3-pointers for her 21 points.

"Justine is a pleasure to coach," Behn said. "I'm really proud of her for reaching that milestone. She is a wonderful player and a wonderful person."

An All-Tournament Team selection, Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) connected on 12-of-22 field goals and hit a trio of 3-pointers on her way to her 25^th career game with 20 or more points. She added six steals, six rebounds, and three assists, while averaging 22.0 points per game at the tournament – the highest scoring average for any player at the event.

Gaziano and Mehta – who now has 1,454 career points – stand as the sixth pair of teammates in program history to play contemporaneously as 1,000-point scorers. The duo is the first to accomplish the feat since Sarah Hayes '06 and Colleen Kelly '06 played together as 1,000-point scorers in the 2005-06 season.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) scored a season-high 17 points, connecting on 6-of-7 shots from the field and tallying four rebounds and three steals. Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) posted seven points and three assists, and senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) handed out a team-best four assists.

For the game, the Bears held a 25-11 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing the Bison into 20 giveaways. Brown shot 51.6 percent from the field in the contest, while Bucknell made 8-of-13 field goals (61.5 percent) and 13-of-14 free throws (92.9 percent) in the fourth quarter. The Bison gained a 40-24 edge in rebounds and made 24-of-29 free throws (82.8 percent) in the game.

Bucknell won all three of its games on the weekend, including victories over Massachusetts (77-58) and Fairfield (77-54). Brown finished the event 1-2 with a 68-49 win over Fairfield and a 90-61 setback to UMass.

In game two on Sunday, Massachusetts (5-2) topped Fairfield (2-4), 59-49. The Minutewomen finished with a 2-1 record at the multi-team event while the Stags concluded the weekend with an 0-3 mark.

After Bucknell opened the game with a 7-0 lead, eight early points from Gaziano, including a pair of 3-pointers, whittled the margin to 13-12. In the final 3:32 of the opening frame, Will and Gaziano both hit 3-pointers to bring the Bears within 27-24 of the Bison at the end of one.

Gaziano scored her 1,000^th career point at the 7:05 mark of the second quarter, converting a layup to give Brown a 32-31 lead. Baskets from sophomore center Jenna Benzinger (Williamstown, Mass.) and Mehta acted as part of a 9-0 run that pushed the Bears ahead 37-31 with 4:50 to play in the half. A 3-pointer from Mehta capped a separate 9-2 run as Brown went ahead 48-41, and the Bears remained up, 48-43, at the intermission.

In the first half, Brown shot 63.6 percent (21-of-33) from the field and 50.0 (5-of-10) percent from 3-point territory, while holding advantages in points in the paint (24-14), points off turnovers (17-3), and fast break points (8-0). The Bears committed just four turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Early in the third quarter, a driving layup from Will and 3-pointer from Mehta kept the Bears ahead 55-52 before the Bison used a 7-0 run to re-gain a 59-55 lead with 3:09 left in the period. A reverse layup from Will kept Brown within 61-59 heading to the final frame.

A 3-pointer from the top of the key from Mehta brought Brown within 67-64 with 7:01 to play before Bucknell extended its edge to 78-69 with 4:54 left. The Bears responded with a 7-0 run behind a trey from Steeves and a pair of jumpers from Mehta, bringing the score to 78-76 with 2:55 to go. Another basket from Mehta kept the score at 82-78 with 1:38 on the clock, but the visitors scored the game's final nine points.

For Bucknell, Tournament MVP Kaitlyn Slagus scored 30 points, making 8-of-13 field goals and 12-of-14 free throws. Abby Kapp netted 17 points, and Ellie Mack totaled 12 points and nine rebounds. Kapp and Mack both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team. Massachusetts' Bre Hampton Bey and Hailey Leidel, and Fairfield's Khadidiatou Diouf rounded out the All-Tournament Team selections.

Next, Brown hosts in-state opponent Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

Brown University Turkey Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Shayna Mehta (Brown)
MVP: Kaitlyn Slagus (Bucknell)
Abby Kapp (Bucknell)
Ellie Mack (Bucknell)
Khadidiatou Diouf (Fairfield)
Bre Hampton-Bey (Massachusetts)
Hailey Leidel (Massachusetts)

Game Notes:
Justine Gaziano became the first Bear to score her 1,000^th career point at the Pizzitola Sports Center since Jordin Alexander '16 hit the mark against Columbia on Mar. 4, 2016 … For the second straight year, a Bear scored her 1,000^th career point against a Patriot League opponent. Last season, Shayna Mehta netted her 1,000^th career point at Colgate on Dec. 10, 2017 … Gaziano and Mehta each scored her 1,000^th career point as a junior. Gaziano reached the mark in 58 games, and Mehta hit the total in 65 career games … Mehta now has 534 career made field goals, moving into fifth place all-time at Brown and passing Liz Turner '98 (524) and Michelle Smith '86 (529) … Mehta now has 215 career made 3-pointers, moving into eighth place in Ivy League history and passing Michelle Miller of Penn (213) … Mehta has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and in 75 career games. For the tournament, she averaged 22.0 points per game, 4.3 assists per game, and 3.7 steals per game, while making 26 field goals. Mehta led all players in all four categories … Gaziano has scored 20 or more points in four games this season and in 23 career games. She has scored in double figures seven times this season and 51 times in her career … Taylor Will scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and the 36^th time in her career.

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.