Leonidas Scores 24 Points to Lead Women’s Basketball Past Maine in OT, 76-70

Monday, November 11

Providence, R.I.

7:00 PM

Brown University

1-1

Maine

1-1

Team	1	2	3	4	OT 1	F
Maine	13	13	17	18	9	70
Brown	12	13	12	24	15	76

Leonidas Scores 24 Points to Lead Women’s Basketball Past Maine in OT, 76-70

11/11/2019 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Junior guard Dominique Leonidas scored a career-high 24 points and made 9-of-10 field goals to lead Brown University women's basketball past the University of Maine in overtime, 76-70, on Monday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears (1-1) outscored the Black Bears (1-1) 24-18 in the fourth quarter and then 15-9 in overtime to upend the defending America East champions who entered the game ranked No. 15 in the Women's Mid-Major Top-25 Poll.

"This was a really big win," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "Maine was 25-7 last year and just beat Delaware in their opener. Their offense is hard to guard, but we did a really good job against them. As time went on, we started to learn how to put the ball in the basket. It's a great win for us against a team that won their conference last year."

Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) finished the game with 24 points, six assists, and five rebounds, while connecting on 9-of-10 field goals and 3-of-3 3-pointers. She netted 13 points in the fourth quarter alone and scored in double figures for the fifth time in her career. She notched her second collegiate game with 20 or more points and scored the game-tying basket with 3.9 seconds left in regulation.

"Dom had a phenomenal game," Behn said. "Her speed is tough to stop. She's been banged up for a while but is starting to feel it. People made shots around her, and we played good team defense."

Making her season debut, senior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted 12 points – including eight points in overtime – alongside six rebounds. She now has 1,400 career points, moving into fifth place on Brown's career scoring list and passing Christa Champion '86 (1,393 points). She has scored in double figures 69 times in her career in 81 games played.

Junior guard McKenna Dale (Storrs, Conn.) totaled 12 points, five rebounds, and four steals for her first collegiate game with 10 or more points against a Division I opponent.

Senior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) tallied eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists while sophomore guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) contributed eight points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) added seven points on 3-of-4 shots in seven minutes.

The Bears connected on 11-of-14 field goals (78.6 percent) and 2-of-3 triples in the fourth quarter before converting 6-of-7 free throws in overtime. For the game, Brown held Maine to 36.4-percent shooting from the field and 20.8-percent shooting from 3-point distance.

In the fourth quarter, the Bears used an 8-0 run behind four points from Leonidas and baskets from Gaziano and Dale to knot the score at 45-45 with 6:54 to go in regulation. Triples from Mullin and Leonidas pushed Brown ahead 55-54 at the 3:17 mark. After Leonidas gave Brown a 59-58 lead with 1:00 left, Maine re-gained a 61-59 edge before Leonidas scored with 3.9 seconds on the clock to force overtime.

In the bonus session, a basket from Green, 3-pointer from Gaziano, and layup from Breedlove pushed Brown ahead 69-67 with 2:41 to play. A 3-point play from Gaziano then made the score 72-67 with 1:51 left. Gaziano and Dale each made two free throws inside of the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

Mullin, freshman guard Sydney Rosant (Foster City, Ga.), and Dale all hit 3-pointers in the third quarter to bring Brown within 39-36 with 2:36 to go in the frame. Maine took a 43-37 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Bears opened the game with a 10-7 lead behind four points from Green and baskets from sophomore forward Ashley Ducharme (Milton, Mass.) and Dale. A pair of free throws from Mullin kept Brown within 13-12 of Maine at the end of the opening stanza.

Leonidas knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Bears ahead 18-15 with 7:45 to play in the second quarter. A driving layup from Gaziano capped an 8-0 run that gave Brown a 20-15 edge. A 3-point play from Breedlove and long jumper from Dale allowed the hosts to pull ahead 25-20 at the 2:07 mark before the visitors took a 26-25 lead into the locker room.

In the first half, Brown limited Maine to 1-of-12 from 3-point distance (8.3 percent). For the Bears, seven different players scored and nine different players grabbed at least one rebound in the opening 20 minutes.

For Maine, Blanca Millan scored 27 points and made 12-of-13 free throws. Anne Simon netted 11 points, Maddy McVicar added 10 points, and Maeve Carroll grabbed 10 rebounds.

Next, Brown plays at Central Connecticut State on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m. (NEC Front Row) and at Longwood on Saturday, Nov. 16 at noon (ESPN+).

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.