Leonidas Nets Career-High 21, Women's Hoops Falls to Harvard, 86-74

Friday, February 16

Providence, R.I.

6 pm

Brown University

14-8, 2-7Ivy

Harvard

14-8, 6-3Ivy

Harvard

Brown

Leonidas Nets Career-High 21, Women's Hoops Falls to Harvard, 86-74

2/16/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman guard Dominique Leonidas scored a game and career-high 21 points, but Brown University women's basketball dropped an 86-74 decision to Harvard University on Friday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears (14-8, 2-7 Ivy) remained within 71-65 of the Crimson (14-8, 6-3 Ivy) with 3:04 to play before the visitors used an 8-0 run to pull ahead 79-65 and did not allow the hosts to come any closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) netted her 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and added five assists. She scored over 20 points for the first time in her collegiate career.

Junior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled 16 points, a game and career-high six assists, and four rebounds. She hit 3-of-7 shots from 3-point distance and now has 1,203 career points and 184 career made 3-pointers.

Senior forward Janie White (Clarksville, Tenn.) registered 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks. For the season, she has 68 blocks, tying her mark from the 2015-16 campaign for the fourth most in a single season in program history.

Sophomore guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and junior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) connected on a pair of 3-pointers for six points alongside six rebounds.

Brown attempted to rally from a 40-28 halftime deficit, connecting on 15-of-25 field goals (60.0 percent) and 5-of-9 triples (55.6 percent) in the second half, but Harvard made 6-of-11 field goals and 15-of-19 free throws in the fourth quarter. The Crimson controlled the paint in the game, gaining advantages in rebounds (41-23), second-chance points (15-3), and points in the paint (34-24).

As part of the Bears' Team IMPACT Night, Brown recognized four matches from the organization that connects children facing life-threatening illnesses with college sports teams. Brown recognized the program's match, Ellie Leo, prior to the game and honored Nicholas Cioe (Brown men's lacrosse), Alex Falzone (Brown baseball), and Julia Howell (Harvard women's basketball) at halftime.

For Harvard, Katie Benzan led six double-figure scorers with 20 points, hitting 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc. Madeline Raster, Taylor Rooks, and Sydney Skinner all scored 14 points, Jadyn Bush netted 13 points, and Jeannie Boehm posted 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Junior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) and White hit early 3-pointers as Brown led 8-7 just over four minutes into the game. Harvard responded with an 11-0 run, and despite five points from Leonidas, Brown trailed Harvard 25-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Leonidas and Mehta both hit jumpers early in the second quarter, but Harvard pulled ahead 33-17 – its largest lead of the game – with 7:06 to go in the period. A wing 3-pointer from Butler and four points from Leonidas helped Brown pull within 38-28 prior to Harvard taking a 40-28 edge into the locker room.

Midway through the third quarter, the Bears used a 10-0 run to cut Harvard's deficit to 45-42 with 4:09 remaining in the stanza. During the run, Butler hit a trey, Gaziano converted two layups, and Leonidas netted three points. The Crimson pulled back ahead 52-42 with seven straight points. Five points from Mehta, including a wing 3-pointer, made it 54-49 prior to Harvard bringing a 57-49 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Brown trimmed Harvard's margin to five points on four occasions inside of the fourth quarter's first three minutes – on the strength of 3-pointers from Gaziano and Mehta – but could pull no closer the rest of the way. Baskets from senior guard Megan Reilly (Norwood, N.J.), Gaziano, and Leonidas made it 71-65 with 3:04 on the clock, but Harvard countered with an 8-0 run, claiming a 79-65 edge with 1:31 remaining. A 3-point play from White and six points from Mehta kept Brown within 82-74 with 1:04 left before the Crimson hit four free throws.

Next, Brown hosts Dartmouth for its "Think Pink" game tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 17, at 4:00 p.m. (ILN).

Video of all Brown women's basketball home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV, Roku, and the ILN app for Android and Apple devices.

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.