Women’s Basketball Plays First Road Game at Bryant Thursday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Brown University women's basketball plays its first road contest of the season when the Bears travel to meet in-state foe Bryant University on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (NEC Front Row) at the Chace Athletic Center.

FOLLOW THE BEARS
At Bryant: Live Video (NEC Front Row) | Live Stats
On Twitter: @BrownHoops | @BrownAthletics
On Facebook: Brown Women's Basketball | Brown Athletics
On Instagram: brownhoops | brownathletics
Via Hashtag: #GoBruno | #IvyHoops | #ALLInALLOut
Game Notes: Brown at Bryant

THE IVY LEAGUE ON ESPN
Video of all home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, except those blacked out by national broadcasts will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing a monthly package for $4.99 or a yearly package for $49.99.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
Brown was selected to finish fifth in the 2018-19 Ivy League Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll. Defending league champion Princeton took the top spot in the poll with 14 first-place votes and 133 total points. Penn followed in second with two first-place votes and 107 total points while Harvard (one first-place vote, 104 points) and Yale (89 points) rounded out the top half of the poll. Brown (66), Dartmouth (55), Columbia (30), and Cornell (28) filled out the fifth through eighth slots, in order.

VETERAN FEEL
Brown returns 87 percent of its scoring and 76 percent of its rebounding from a season ago as the Bears bring back seven of their top eight scorers and six of their top seven rebounders from last season.

FAB FOUR
The four members of Brown's senior class – Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine), Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.), Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec), and Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) – have combined for 319 games played, 228 games started, 3,126 points, 1,139 field goals made, 344 3-pointers made, 504 free throws made, 1,463 rebounds, 543 assists, 372 steals, 125 blocks, and 8,113 minutes played over their careers.

FOUR OF A KIND WITH AN ACE
Over the course of their careers, the quintet of seniors Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.), Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec), Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.), and Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) and junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) has combined for 370 games played, 277 games started, 4,015 points, 1,449 field goals made, 430 3-pointers made, 687 free throws made, 1,647 rebounds, 611 assists, 404 steals, 136 blocks, and 9,829 minutes played.

BACK-TO-BACK ALL-IVY HONOREES
Last winter guard Shayna Mehta '19 (San Francisco, Calif.) earned Second Team All-Ivy, and guard Justine Gaziano '20 (Natick, Mass.) gained Honorable Mention All-Ivy, becoming the first pair of Brown teammates to garner All-Ivy in back-to-back seasons since Sarah Hayes '06 and Holly Robertson '05 both collected All-Ivy accolades in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. Both Mehta and Gaziano earned Second Team All-Ivy in the 2016-17 season. At the end of the 2017-18 regular season, Mehta ranked second in the Ivy League in points per game (18.5), second in 3-pointers made per game (2.8), and third in steals per game (2.2) while Gaziano ranked third in the Ancient Eight in points per game (17.9), first in free throw percentage (.872), third in field goal percentage (.486), and fifth in 3-pointers per game (1.9).

THREE STRAIGHT WINNING SEASONS
After going 15-13 overall in 2015-16, 17-13 in 2016-17, and 15-12 in 2017-18, Brown posted three straight winning seasons for the first time since registering four straight seasons above .500 from 2002-06.

RECORDS WATCH
Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) continues to make her way up the charts in the Brown record book. Mehta currently ranks seventh at Brown in career points (1,306), third in career 3-pointers made (196), and ninth in career field goals made (478). Also, on Brown's career 3-pointers made list, senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) stands eighth (101), and junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) sits 10^th (85).

ON THE FAST BREAK
As a team last year, Brown led the Ivy League in points per game (75.3), while ranking second in 3-point field goals made per game (8.1), defensive rebounds per game (29.1), and blocks per game (5.37). The Bears scored at least 70 points in 19 games and eclipsed 80 points 11 times.

START YOUR ENGINES
Brown opened its 46^th season of women's basketball on Nov. 6, and the Bears have now registered a 20-26 record all-time in season openers. Brown has won its last five openers and six of its last seven season debuts. Beginning last year with a 12-1 record, Brown established its best start in program history through 13 games. At 10-1 through 11 games, the Bears began 2015-16 with their best start since 1973-74. Brown opened the 2015-16 season at 5-0 for the first time in school history before falling at Manhattan.

NON-CONFERENCE WINS
The Bears notched a 12-1 mark in non-conference contests this past year, tying for the second-most non-conference wins in school history and giving the Bears double-digit non-league wins for the sixth time. In 2016-17, the team tallied a 10-6 non-conference record as Brown posted its fifth-most non-conference wins in program history. With a 12-2 mark in non-conference contests in 2015-16, Brown finished second in program history for non-conference victories in a season. The Bears went 13-2 in non-league games in 1974-75 and notched 11 such wins in 1973-74 and 1975-76.

MEHTA ECLIPSES 1,000 POINTS
Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) became the 20^th 1,000-point scorer in program history and the fifth student-athlete in program history to score 1,000 points before her senior year with a 28-point effort at Colgate on Dec. 10, 2017. She netted her 1,000^th point on a corner 3-pointer with 6:14 to play against the Raiders. She became the program's first 1,000-point scorer since Jordin Alexander '16, and the program's first player to score 1,000 points before her senior year since Vita Redding '99.

PERIMETER DUO
Brown carries two of the Ivy League's top scorers in senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) and junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.). Mehta ranked second in the conference with 18.5 points per game last season. She connected on four or more 3-pointers in each of nine games last year and currently ranks seventh all-time in school history with 1,306 career points, third in program history with 196 career made 3-pointers, and ninth with 478 career made field goals. She opened the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. CCSU (Nov. 6) for her eighth career double-double. Gaziano ranked third in the league last winter with 17.9 points per game and led the conference in free throw percentage (.872). She scored a game-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting with eight rebounds vs. CCSU (Nov. 6). The duo combined for 22 20-point games last season, helping Brown post a 20-point scorer in 23 of 27 games, including six contests with two 20-point scorers.

REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS
Brown set a program record for points against a Division I opponent in its 102-77 win over Sacred Heart on Dec. 6, 2017. The Bears scored over 100 points against a Division I team for the first time in school history. Brown crossed the century mark for the first time in a 114-28 win over Division III Mount Ida on Nov. 19, 2015 and reached the plateau in a 100-79 win over Johnson & Wales on Jan. 5, 2018. The Bears' previous scoring high against a Division I opponent came in a 98-88 win over Princeton on Jan. 13, 2017. Against SHU, Brown trailed 32-13 at the 8:29 mark of the second quarter before outscoring the Pioneers, 89-45, over the remainder of the game.

BACK-TO-BACK OCEAN STATE TIP-OFF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Brown won its second straight Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament title in 2017 as the Bears defeated host Providence College in the semifinals (Dec. 2), 64-59, and topped Bryant University, 72-60, in the championship game (Dec. 3). Guard Justine Gaziano '20 (Natick, Mass.) earned Tournament MVP honors while guard Taylor Will '19 (Arlington Heights, Ill.) gained All-Tournament Team accolades. The Bears won the inaugural event in 2016 behind victories over Rhode Island in the semifinals and Providence in the championship game. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Brown has posted an 8-1 record against Division I opponents from the state of Rhode Island.

MEHTA ON THE MARK
Guard Shayna Mehta '19 (San Francisco, Calif.) scored a career-high 33 points and set a single-game program record with nine made 3-pointers in the Bears' game against No. 20 California on Nov. 19, 2017. Mehta hit 9-of-15 shots from 3-point distance and earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors on Nov. 20. She came within one 3-pointer of tying the Ivy League record for made 3-pointers in a single game and posted her second career game with 30 or more points.

HISTORY MADE BEYOND THE ARC
Against No. 20 California on Nov. 19, 2017, Brown set single-game program records for 3-pointers made (16) and 3-pointers attempted (41), shooting 39.0 percent from distance in the contest. In the first quarter alone, the Bears connected on 7-of-17 shots (41.2 percent) from behind the arc.

MEHTA DATA
Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) ranked second in the Ivy League with 18.5 points per game, second with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game, and third with 2.2 steals per game a season ago. She opened the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. CCSU (Nov. 6) for her eighth career double-double. Last year in Ivy League play, she averaged 17.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. For her career, she has scored in double figures 68 times, netted 20 or more points 22 times, and totaled eight double-doubles. A 2017-18 Academic All-Ivy selection, she has earned Second Team All-Ivy accolades in each of the last two years and collected Ivy League All-Tournament Team honors in 2016-17. She unanimously won the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award in 2015-16.

GAZIANO THE GO-TO
Junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) ranked third in the Ivy League with 17.9 points per game, first in free throw percentage (87.2), fifth in 3-pointers per game (1.9), and third in field goal percentage (48.6) last season. She opened the 2018-19 season with 27 points and eight rebounds vs. CCSU (Nov. 6). In Ivy League play last winter, she scored 17.5 points per game, shot 49.4 percent from the field, and 44.6 percent from downtown. For her career, Gaziano has scored in double figures in each of 45 games, netted 20 or more points 20 times, and eclipsed 30 points three times. She has earned All-Ivy honors in each of her first two seasons, taking Honorable Mention in 2017-18 and Second Team in 2016-17.

STEEVES ANCHORS FRONTCOURT
Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) scored 11.1 points per game last season, while ranking second in the Ivy League in defensive rebounds per game (6.4) and seventh in rebounds per game (7.4). In Ivy play, she averaged 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. For her career, she has totaled 15 double-doubles, scored in double figures 45 times, and eclipsed 20 points six times. She returns as one of the Bears' most experienced frontcourt players and earned a spot on the Ivy League All-Tournament Team in 2016-17.

BREAD AND BUTLER
Senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) has played in all 86 games since the start of the 2015-16 season, the only Bear to do so. She opened the year with eight rebounds, five points, and four assists vs. CCSU (Nov. 6). Last winter she averaged 3.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 15.6 minutes per game for the season. In Ivy play a year ago, Butler posted 3.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 16.6 minutes per contest. She adds to Brown's experience in the frontcourt and earned Ocean State Tip-Off All-Tournament Team honors as a sophomore.

DOMINIQUE DISTRIBUTES
Sophomore guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) stepped up her level of play during Ivy League competition last year as she posted 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 20.0 minutes per game. Overall for her rookie season, has averaged 17.6 minutes, 4.1 points, 2.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. During a three-game span from Feb. 10-17, Leonidas tallied 15.3 points per game and shot 63.3 percent (19-of-30) from the floor.

TAYLOR MAKES SWIFT RETURN
Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) returned to the Brown lineup in the season opener vs. CCSU (Nov. 6) after missing the majority of last season due to a knee injury she sustained on Dec. 22, 2017. In the opener, she posted nine points and a career-high seven steals vs. CCSU (Nov. 6). Through Brown's first 11 games last year, Will ranked fifth in the Ivy League with 17.0 points per game, fifth in field goal percentage (48.3), fourth in assists per game (3.9), third in steals per game (2.6), and fourth in free throw percentage (77.6). She scored in double figures in all 11 games in which she played last season and netted over 20 points in each of three games. For her career, she has scored in double figures 31 times and netted 20 or more points six times. She took a major step forward in her development from her freshman to her sophomore season pushing her scoring from 1.7 points per game as a rookie to 12.3 points per game as a sophomore – an increase of 10.6 points per game.

NON-LEAGUE WINNING STREAK
During non-league play last winter, Brown went on a 10-game winning streak from Nov. 24 to Jan. 5, marking the second double-digit win streak in program history. The Bears posted one other double-digit win streak during a school-record 13-game stretch from Jan. 23 to Mar. 5 during the 1992-93 season.

STEEVES SCORES SECOND-MOST POINTS
Forward Erika Steeves '19 (Montreal, Quebec) scored 38 points – the second-highest single-game total in school history – in Brown's 100-79 win over Johnson & Wales on Jan. 5, 2018. She netted 8-of-10 shots from 3-point distance, marking the second-most made 3-pointers in a game in program history. Her 14 made field goals tied for the fourth most in a contest in the Brown record book. Her 38-point effort helped the Bears score 100 or more points for the second time this season and for the third time in program history.

SUMMER WELL SPENT
During the summer of 2018, junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) spent 30 days in Samoa through a Brown University Royce Sport and Society Fellowship. During her time in Samoa, Gaziano explored the athletic experiences of a select group of high performing female athletes with an emphasis on how sociocultural attitudes towards female athletes have impacted their experiences. Also this past summer, sophomores McKenna Dale (Storrs, Conn.) and Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and assistant coach Sara Binkhorst volunteered in Kenya with the non-profit Play BOLD, assisting with sport clinics, classroom education, and infrastructural projects. In the summer of 2017, senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) spent 23 days traveling through China, studying the market for amateur and professional basketball there through a Royce Fellowship for Sport and Society while during that same summer senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) spent 18 days in Chennai, India with Crossover Basketball and Scholars Academy, using basketball as a vehicle to impact the education rates of marginalized communities there.

THE SPLASH SISTERS
The Bears feature the first pair of Indian American sisters to play NCAA Division I basketball for the same team in senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) and freshman guard Nina Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.). The sisters have their own Instagram account – brownsplashsisters – in homage the "Splash Brothers" duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson from the Mehtas' hometown NBA team, the Golden State Warriors.

STEEVES EARNS COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT AGAIN
Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) has gained CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District accolades in each of the last two seasons as a sophomore and junior. In order to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must participate as a starter or an important reserve, have reached sophomore academic standing, and maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average.

BEARS SIGN ELLIE LEO THROUGH TEAM IMPACT
Brown officially signed Ellie Leo, then a 12-year-old, seventh grade student from Norton, Mass., to its roster through a Team IMPACT Cystic Fibrosis Project "Draft Day" Sponsored by Vertex Pharmaceuticals on Nov. 30, 2017. As part of a ceremony in the Pizzitola Sports Center's Joukowsky Room, Ellie – a high honors student who loves gymnastics, basketball, and art – signed an official Letter of Intent before her family and friends and received an authentic team jersey from the Bears.

STEEVES NORTH OF THE BORDER
Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) took part in a pair of camps with Canada Basketball's Women's National Team in the summer of 2017. Steeves competed in the program's Assessment Camp from May 12-22 in Edmonton, Alberta and in the organization's Development Team Tryouts from July 29 to August 8 in Toronto, Ontario.

THE CAPTAINS
The four members of Brown's senior class – forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine), guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.), forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec), and guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) will serve the Bears as captains during the 2018-19 season. Steeves returns for her second year as a captain for the Bears.

CLASS OF 2022
Brown's welcomes six freshmen to its roster for the upcoming season in a Class of 2022 that includes forward/center Elle Baker (Scottsdale, Ariz.), guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.), forward Ashley Ducharme (Milton, Mass.), guard/forward Alana Kelley (Phoeniz, Ariz.), guard Nina Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) – senior guard Shayna Mehta's younger sister – and Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.).

STAFF CHANGES
Brown head coach Sarah Behn has brought three new staff members to the program for the 2018-19 season. The Bears feature two new assistant coaches in Eddie Benton – a former assistant coach at Cincinnati and Duquesne – and Kanika Cummings – a former assistant coach at Connecticut College – in addition to a new operations coordinator in Olivia Healy – a former standout student-athlete at Richmond and New Hampshire.

THE BRYANT SERIES HISTORY
Brown and Bryant have met 11 times with the Bears holding a 7-4 edge in the all-time series. Brown is 3-2 at home, 3-2 on the road, and 1-0 at neutral sites in the series. In the 2017-18 season, the Bears defeated the Bulldogs twice, including a victory in the championship game of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament. In four games against Bryant, senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) has averaged 20.0 points per game, including 24.5 points per game in two games at the Chace Athletic Center.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Bryant enters Thursday's match-up with a 1-0 record after defeating UMass Lowell, 58-57, in its season opener on Tuesday. First Team All-NEC selection Sydney Holloway posted a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fourth in the 2018-19 NEC Preseason Poll after going 9-21 (8-10 NEC) a season ago.

UP NEXT
Following its match-up with Bryant, Brown plays at Boston University on Monday, Nov. 12 at 7:00 p.m. (Patriot League Network) before hosting the University of New Hampshire on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

THIRD ANNUAL IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Brown will look to compete at the third annual Ivy League Tournament, which is set to take place at Yale University's John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn., from Mar. 16-17, 2019. Semifinals for the tournament will take place at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Mar. 16 on ESPN3, and the final for the tournament will tip off at 4:00 p.m. on Mar. 17 on ESPNU.

TICKETS!
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.

Women’s Basketball Plays First Road Game at Bryant Thursday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Traiva Breedlove

Mary Butler

McKenna Dale

Ashley Ducharme

Justine Gaziano

Alana Kelley

Dominique Leonidas

Nina Mehta

Shayna Mehta

Maddie Mullin

Erika Steeves

Taylor Will

Brown University Athletics