Gaziano, Green Lead Women’s Basketball Past Chicago State, 90-65

Sunday, December 30

Chicago, Ill.

3:00 PM ET

Brown University

7-6

Chicago State

0-13

Brown

Chicago State

Gaziano, Green Lead Women’s Basketball Past Chicago State, 90-65

12/30/2018 6:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. – Junior guard Justine Gaziano scored 29 points and hit a career-high six 3-pointers, junior center Haley Green netted a career-best 15 points, and Brown University women's basketball defeated Chicago State University, 90-65, on Sunday afternoon at the Jones Convocation Center.

Playing in their first game since Dec. 8 and competing in the state of Illinois for the first time since Dec. 6, 1986, the Bears (7-6) held a lead as large as 21 points in the first half and gained an edge as large as 30 points in the second half on their way to the win over the host Cougars (0-13).

"We had a little bit longer break than we have in other years and just had three days of practice before this game," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "I was pleased with the overall performance. We have some things we need to do better, especially taking care of the ball. All in all, we got a lot of production from a lot of players and got 26 points off the bench with Haley Green leading the way."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted her 29 points on 10-of-17 field goals and 6-of-7 3-pointers, making 5-of-5 treys in the second half. She scored over 20 points for the seventh time this season and the 26^th time in her career. Gaziano now has 115 career made 3-pointers, moving into seventh place all-time at Brown and passing Liz Turner '98 (111 made 3-pointers).

Green (Salem, Va.) scored in double figures for the first time as a collegiate student-athlete, notching her 15 points on 5-of-5 field goals and 5-of-7 free throws.

Playing in her home state for the first time as a collegian, senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) totaled 11 points, a season-high six assists, five rebounds, and a game-high four steals. She scored in double figures for the eighth time this season and the 39^th time in her career.

Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) tallied 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists, while making 3-of-6 3-pointers. She now has 1,027 career points, moving into 19^th on Brown's all-time list and passing Jordin Alexander '16 and Sophie Bikofsky '15 – both with 1,018 career points. Steeves scored in double figures for the 50^th time in her career.

Senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) posted eight points and seven rebounds, freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) registered seven points, six boards, and three steals, and senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) contributed five points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals. Mehta has averaged 7.6 assists per game over her last five contests.

The Bears scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games and have scored 70 or more points in seven of their last 10 and five of their last six outings. Against CSU, Brown made 15 steals and forced 23 turnovers, leading 24-8 in points off turnovers. The Bears made 13-of-27 3-pointers (48.1 percent) in the game, making 12-of-20 treys (60.0 percent) through the first three quarters. Brown limited CSU to 2-of-12 shooting (16.7 percent) from downtown and led 49-39 in rebounds.

"We had a goal to get 15 or more assists and 15 or more offensive rebounds, and we hit both of those goals in this game with 21 assists and 18 offensive boards," Behn said. "Our seniors combined for 18 assists and were very unselfish in sharing the ball which makes us a better team."

Butler, Will, and Steeves all hit 3-pointers inside of the game's first four minutes as Brown trailed CSU 10-9. Brown closed the quarter on an 18-4 run to take a 24-14 lead at the end of one. Gaziano scored nine points during the run, including a steal-and-score and a corner 3-pointer. Green and Breedlove each made baskets in the lane during the streak.

A wing triple from Steeves and a layup from Butler extended Brown's lead to 29-14 early in the second quarter. After CSU came within 29-19, the Bears used a 12-2 run to pull ahead 41-21 for their first 20-point lead. Back-to-back treys from Will and Steeves capped the run. A transition layup from Green and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Gaziano helped Brown maintain a 47-31 lead at the break.

In the first half, Brown made 7-of-12 3-pointers (58.3 percent), including 3-of-5 shooting from Steeves. As a team, Brown made 12 steals and forced CSU into 16 turnovers, leading 16-4 in points off turnovers. Six different Bears scored at least five points in the opening 20 minutes. Brown held a lead as large as 21 points (46-25) in the second quarter.

Gaziano connected on all four of her 3-point attempts in the third quarter to help keep the Bears ahead 69-48 through three stanzas. Back-to-back triples from Gaziano and Mehta pushed Brown ahead 66-44 at the 1:18 mark of the frame, and an old-fashioned 3-point play off an offensive rebound from Green gave the Bears a 69-46 edge.

The Bears extended their lead in the fourth quarter, gaining a 30-point edge – their largest of the game – at 90-60 with 3:30 to play. Gaziano hit her fifth 3-pointer of the second half, and freshman forward Alana Kelley (Phoenix, Ariz.) made consecutive layups as part of the stretch that allowed the Bears to seal the win.

For Chicago State, Ines Mata Boix posted a double-double on 16 points and a game-high 20 rebounds. Alexandria Cliff and Kourtney Crane each netted 15 points.

Next, Brown concludes its trip to the state of Illinois at Northern Illinois University tomorrow, Monday, Dec. 31, at 2:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. CT) to close the 2018 calendar year.

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.