Women’s Hoops Falls to Rhode Island in Ocean State Tip-Off Title Game, 72-67

Sunday, December 2

Kingston, R.I.

2:00 PM

Brown University

Rhode Island

Brown

Rhode Island

Women’s Hoops Falls to Rhode Island in Ocean State Tip-Off Title Game, 72-67

12/2/2018 5:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I. – Junior guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 25 points, but Brown University women's basketball fell to the University of Rhode Island, 72-67, in the championship game of the third annual Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Ryan Center.

The Bears (6-5) whittled a 12-point halftime deficit down to three points inside of the final minute with a chance to tie before the host Rams (5-2) held on to win the tournament for the first time.

"I was pleased with how we competed, especially in the second half, we started to do a better job attacking the interior of their zone," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "The critical stretch was when we got it to four or five points, we had a few break ways that we couldn't capitalize on. Even with that we were in a position to tie with a 3-pointer at the end."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) earned All-Tournament Team honors and led all scorers at the tournament with 30.0 points per game. She added seven rebounds and hit four 3-pointers as part of her 25-point effort. Gaziano paced the tournament in scoring for the second straight year after averaging 23.0 points per game at the 2017 edition of the event.

Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) joined Gaziano on the All-Tournament Team, posting 17 points, a career-high eight assists, and five rebounds on the day. She now has 222 career 3-pointers, tying for first place all-time at Brown alongside Sophie Bikofsky '15. She set or tied her career high in assists for the third straight game.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) notched nine points, four boards, and three steals, senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) registered six points, eight boards, and a career-high four blocks, and senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) added seven points and five boards.

With 60 points on the weekend, Gaziano now has 1,081 career points moving into 14^th place on Brown's career scoring list and passing Sheila Dixon '13 (1,070) and Colleen Kelly '06 (1,080). Gaziano has now scored 20 or more points in each of six games this season and in 25 career games.

The Bears advanced to the championship game after beating Bryant, 84-68, in the semifinals on Saturday while URI topped Providence, 72-65. In Sunday's consolation game, PC beat Bryant, 72-64.

"We executed well, competed well, and took care of the ball today," Behn said. "There are things that we can practice from this game that will carry over to Ivy. I wish we came out with the cup, but I think we can build on this weekend."

For the game, Brown limited URI to 32.4 percent shooting from the field and held a 14-7 advantage in points off turnovers. URI led 60-46 in rebounds and 25-10 in second-chance points. The Bears outscored the Rams 44-37 in the second half.

After URI opened the game with a 5-0 lead, Brown responded with 12 straight points to pull ahead 12-5 at the midway point of the first quarter. Mehta scored five points during the run, including a pull-up 3-pointer, and sophomore center Jenna Benzinger (Williamstown, Mass.) added three points. A basket from Will helped Brown maintain a 15-13 edge at the end of one.

A 3-pointer from the top of the key from Steeves kept Brown up 18-16 at the 6:55 mark of the second quarter before the Rams used a 7-0 run to pull ahead 23-18. A corner trey from Gaziano cut the URI lead to 26-23, but the hosts closed the half on a 9-0 run, taking a 35-23 lead at the break.

The Bears used a 9-2 spurt, including five points from Mehta, early in the third quarter to whittle URI's lead to 39-32 at the 5:43 mark. With the Bears trailing 50-37, back-to-back 3-pointers from Gaziano and Mehta cut the margin to 50-43. The 3-pointer from Mehta with 2:16 left in the quarter marked the 222^nd triple of her career – tying for first all-time at Brown. Three points from Butler kept the Bears within 54-46 heading to the final frame.

Four points from Gaziano inside of the first minute of the fourth quarter capped a 13-4 run that brought Brown within 54-50. The two teams traded baskets with a trey from Gaziano keeping Brown within 61-56 with 5:17 to go. After URI went up 68-60, a layup from Will, 3-pointer from Gaziano, and two free throws from Mehta kept the Bears within 70-67 with 52.4 seconds remaining. Gaziano nearly tied the game on a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left before the Rams closed the win.

For Rhode Island, Nicole Jorgensen tallied a double-double on 21 points and 10 rebounds, Abby Streeter scored 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point distance, and Davida Dale added 10 points.

Next, Brown plays at Maine on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+).

2018 Ocean State Tip-Off All-Tournament Team
Justine Gaziano (Brown)
Shayna Mehta (Brown)
Sydney Holloway (Bryant)
Jovana Nogic (Providence)
Abby Streeter (Rhode Island)
MVP: Davida Dale (Rhode Island)

Game Notes:
The members of Brown's senior class finished their careers 13-3 against Rhode Island teams, 9-3 vs. Division I teams from the Ocean State, and 5-1 at the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament … Shayna Mehta has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season, in 15 straight games, and in 32 of her last 33 outings. She now has 1,493 career points … Jenna Benzinger made her second career start.