Women’s Basketball Falls at Rutgers in Non-Conference Finale, 73-52

Friday, January 4

Piscataway, N.J.

7:00 PM

Brown University

Rutgers

Brown

Rutgers

Women’s Basketball Falls at Rutgers in Non-Conference Finale, 73-52

1/4/2019 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Senior guard Taylor Will scored a team-high 15 points, and the Bears remained within one possession of the Scarlet Knights late in the third quarter before Brown University women's basketball fell at Rutgers University, 73-52, in its non-conference finale on Friday night at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

The Bears (8-8) cut their deficit to 44-41 with 1:33 to play in the third quarter prior to the host Scarlet Knights (10-3) – coming off an upset win over No. 4 Maryland – used a 26-4 run to pull ahead 70-45 with 3:24 remaining.

"Rutgers is an excellent basketball team that just beat the No. 4 team in the country and has a Hall of Fame coach in C. Vivian Stringer," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We played with them for three quarters, but they pulled away from us in the fourth quarter with their size and physicality. We've learned a lot over non-conference play and will take the next two weeks to get ready for Ivy play."

Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) connected on a career-high 4-of-5 shots from 3-point distance as part of her 15 points and added four rebounds. She scored in double figures for the 10^th time this season and the 41^st time in her career.

Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) tallied 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. She scored in double figures for the 15^th time this season and 82^nd time in her career.

Freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) notched seven points and made 5-of-6 free throws, sophomore center Jenna Benzinger (Williamstown, Mass.) posted six points on 3-of-5 shooting, and junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) made 2-of-4 3-pointers for six points.

Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) played in her 100^th career game despite flu-like symptoms and grabbed four rebounds. Senior forward Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) corralled a team-high five boards.

Through three quarters, the Bears limited the Scarlet Knights to 32.7-percent shooting from the field and 16.0-percent shooting from 3-point distance. For the game, Rutgers held advantages in rebounds (44-25), offensive boards (17-3), second-chance points (20-5), and points in the paint (34-16). Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer earned her 1,007^th career win.

Inside of the game's first 92 seconds, Mehta made a layup and Will hit a 3-pointer to give Brown a 5-0 lead and force a Rutgers timeout. Two more treys from Will and a 3-pointer from Gaziano kept the score tied at 14-14 with 2:44 to go in the first quarter. A pair of free throws from Breedlove brought the score to 21-17 heading to the second stanza.

A finger-roll layup from Mehta cut the margin to 21-19 early in the second quarter before the Scarlet Knights used a 9-2 run to pull ahead 30-21 at the 5:39 mark. Two free throws from Will and a layup from Benzinger stemmed the run, and Will hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left in the half to trim the Bears' deficit to 33-28 at the break.

In the first half, Brown limited Rutgers to 32.4-percent shooting from the field (12-of-37) and 10.0-percent 3-point shooting (2-of-20). The Scarlet Knights held a 27-12 rebounding advantage, including a 13-1 edge in offensive boards, in the opening 20 minutes.

After the Scarlet Knights pulled ahead 44-35 in the third quarter, baskets from Benzinger, Mehta, and Breedlove whittled the margin to 44-41 with 1:33 to go in the frame. Rutgers scored the period's last six points to bring a 49-41 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Rutgers pulled ahead 70-45 with 3:26 remaining behind a 26-4 run. Inside of the final three minutes, Gaziano made a 3-pointer, and Breedlove and freshman forward Elle Baker (Scottsdale, Ariz.) each connected on two free throws.

For Rutgers, Noga Peleg Pelc scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-7 treys. Stasha Carey and Jordan Wallace each netted 12 points as all 11 Scarlet Knights that entered the game figured into the scoring.

Next, Brown opens Ivy League play at home against Yale on Friday, Jan. 18 at 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+/NESN) for the Bears' Education Day when local elementary and middle school students will hear presentations from professionals in a variety of fields prior to attending the game.

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.