Steeves, Mehta Approach Triple-Doubles, Women’s Hoops Falls at Northern Illinois in Double OT, 109-102

Monday, December 31

DeKalb, Ill.

2:00 PM ET

Brown University

102

109

Northern Illinois

OT 1

OT 2

Brown

102

Northern Ill.

109

Steeves, Mehta Approach Triple-Doubles, Women’s Hoops Falls at Northern Illinois in Double OT, 109-102

12/31/2018 6:02:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

DEKALB, Ill. – Senior forward Erika Steeves and senior guard Shayna Mehta both came within one assist of triple-doubles – Steeves posted 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists while Mehta tallied 25 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists – but Brown University women's basketball fell at Northern Illinois University in double overtime, 109-102, on Monday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center's Victor E. Court.

The Bears (7-7) tied the program record for points against a Division I opponent, rallied to force overtime, and held leads of 85-81 in the first overtime and 97-92 in the second bonus session before the host Huskies (8-4) pulled out the win.

"Northern Illinois is a very good team in a strong conference that is one of the top leagues outside the Power Five," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "Playing in their facility, I was happy that we played hard, gave them a great game, and made several comebacks. This one was heartbreaking because we were up five in overtime and could not put the nail in the coffin."

Trailing 74-69 with 2:10 left in regulation, Brown responded with a 7-0 run to pull ahead 76-74 before the two teams went to overtime tied at 76-76. A four-point play from Mehta helped Brown take an 85-81 lead in the first overtime before a 3-pointer from Steeves sent the game to a second OT tied at 88-88. The Bears pulled ahead 97-92 in the second overtime before NIU used a 13-0 run to gain control of the contest.

Steevees (Montreal, Quebec) posted her fourth double-double of the season and the 19^th of her career on her 22 points and 14 rebounds. She added nine assists and three steals and hit 4-of-10 shots from 3-point distance. She scored over 20 points for the second time this year and eighth time in her career.

Steeves now has 1,049 career points – ranking 18^th all-time at Brown – and 717 career rebounds – tied for seventh all-time at Brown. She is the seventh student-athlete in program history with over 1,000 career points and over 700 career rebounds. She also moved into a tie for fifth in program history with 124 career 3-pointers made.

Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded her second double-double of the year and the ninth of her career behind her 25 points and 10 rebounds. She contributed nine assists and five steals and sank 5-of-11 treys. She eclipsed 20 points for the fourth time this season and 26^th time in her career. Mehta has averaged 7.8 assists per game over her last six outings.

Senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-12 field goals and completed the double-double with 10 rebounds. She notched her first double-double of the season and second of her career.

Junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted 14 points, freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) posted 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting – including seven points in overtime – and senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) scored 10 points, including a go-ahead basket with 18.8 seconds left in regulation.

As a team, Brown broke the 100-point barrier for the fourth time in program history and for the second time against a Division I opponent – all four occurrences have come during the Class of 2019's tenure at Brown. The Bears placed six scorers in double figures to score over 90 points for the third straight game as Brown closed out the 2018 calendar year with its first trip to the state of Illinois since December 1986.

For the game, Brown made 12-of-34 3-pointers (35.3 percent) while holding NIU to 5-of-26 shooting from long distance (19.2 percent). The Huskies held a 45-21 lead in fast break points. The Bears scored over 70 points for the eighth time in their last 11 games and for the sixth time in their last seven outings.

"We had so many kids contribute in so many ways," Behn said. "We had two players approach triple-doubles and three players with double-doubles. They all played great. This gave us a lot of important experience that we can work on in practice. We had a great trip out this way, and I feel really optimistic about what we can accomplish this year."

In the fourth quarter, Brown led 62-58 before the Huskies pulled ahead 65-62 for their first lead since the second quarter. NIU remained ahead 74-69 with 2:10 to go in regulation before the Bears used a 7-0 spurt to pull ahead 76-74 with 18.8 seconds on the clock. Mehta hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the 1:16 mark before Will converted a driving layup with one second on the shot clock to cap the run. The two teams went to overtime tied at 76-76.

After NIU went up 79-78 early in the first overtime, Mehta completed a four-point play, and Gaziano finished a 3-point play to put Brown up 85-81 with 2:33 on the clock. The hosts pulled ahead 88-85 with 23.4 seconds left on a 7-0 run before Steeves sank a triple from the top of the key with 13.1 seconds remaining to extend the game to a second overtime knotted at 88-88.

In the second overtime, Breedlove scored five quick points, and a mid-range jumper from Mehta staked the visitors to a 97-92 advantage with 3:31 to play. NIU countered with a 13-0 run, pulling ahead 105-97 with 33.7 seconds to go. Inside of the final 30 seconds, freshman guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) hit a 3-pointer and Breedlove added a basket before NIU held on for the win.

The two teams combined for six ties in the opening 6:11 with the score knotted at 12-12 at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter. Butler netted six points on 3-of-3 shooting during the opening stretch, and Will added four points on two bank shots. A 3-pointer from Steeves and layup from Breedlove kept the Bears within 21-17 of the Huskies at the end of one.

After NIU took a 26-17 lead with 8:02 left in the second quarter, the Bears responded with an 18-4 run to pull ahead 35-30 with 1:56 to go in the stanza. During the run, Mehta connected on a pair of 3-pointers, Steeves knocked down a pair of jumpers, and Gaziano scored five points. A triple from Steeves gave Brown its biggest lead of the half at 38-32, and the Bears remained ahead 38-34 at the break.

In the third quarter, Butler and Steeves combined for Brown's first 11 points in the frame as the Bears remained ahead 49-44 midway through the period. Treys from Mehta and Gaziano allowed Brown to maintain a 57-54 edge heading to the fourth quarter.

For Northern Illinois, Mikayla Voigt totaled a game-high 36 points and 10 rebounds, Myia Starks netted 25 points, Ally May posted a double-double on 16 points and 17 rebounds, and Gabby Nikitinaite scored 18 points.

Due to a leak in the roof above the court in the main arena of the NIU Convocation Center, the game was moved to Victor E. Court – the home of NIU's volleyball program – with a delayed tip-off time of 1:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. ET) rather than 1:00 p.m. CT (2:00 p.m. ET).

Next, Brown concludes its seven-game road trip with match-ups at Adelphi University (Jan. 2, 5:00 p.m.) and at Rutgers University (Jan. 4, 7:00 p.m.).

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.