Gaziano Nets 24 Points, Women’s Hoops Falls to Holy Cross, 83-71

Sunday, December 1

Providence, R.I.

1:00 PM

Brown University

3-5

Holy Cross

4-1

Holy Cross

Brown

Gaziano Nets 24 Points, Women’s Hoops Falls to Holy Cross, 83-71

12/1/2019 3:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Justine Gaziano scored 24 points and went over 1,500 points for her career, but Brown University women's basketball fell to Holy Cross, 83-71, on Sunday afternoon at the Pizzitola Sports Center in its home non-conference finale.

Opening the month of December, the Bears (3-5) trailed 29-12 after the first quarter before outscoring the visiting Crusaders (4-1), 59-55, over the remaining three frames.

"We got off to a slow start but played them pretty evenly after the first quarter," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "Holy Cross is a very good shooting team – it's hard to beat a team that makes 10-of-13 threes. We need to play better defensively but showed some sparks after the first quarter."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) finished with 24 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a career-high three blocks, while hitting 5-of-9 3-pointers. She now has 1,505 career points, standing as the fifth student-athlete in program history to eclipse the 1,500-point plateau.

Gaziano has scored 20 or more points three times this season and 33 times in her career while scoring in double figures for the fifth time this year and 73^rd time in her career. She now has 535 career field goals made, moving into sixth place in program history and passing Michelle Smith '86 (529 field goals).

Sophomore forward Ashley Ducharme (Milton, Mass.) posted 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and five rebounds for her second straight game in double figures. Sophomore guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) netted 11 points and made 3-of-8 field goals, scoring in double figures for the second time this season.

Freshman guard Sydney Rosant (Foster City, Ga.) added eight points and made 2-of-4 treys. Freshman guard Lexi Love (Oakland, Calif.) chipped in five points, two assists, and two rebounds, and junior guard McKenna Dale (Storrs, Conn.) tacked on five points and three boards.

Junior guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) tallied team highs in steals (five) and assists (four) while freshman forward Fiona Finn (West Roxbury, Mass.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

For Holy Cross, Lauren Manis posted a double-double on 26 points and 12 rebounds, Megan Swords notched a double-double on 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Kathryn Pedi scored 18 points on 6-of-6 shooting from behind the 3-point line.

The Crusaders connected on 10-of-13 3-pointers (76.9 percent) while Brown made a season-high 11 triples. The Bears forced the Crusaders into 20 turnovers and led 19-5 in points off turnovers. Brown held an edge in offensive rebounds (15-9) while Holy Cross led in overall rebounds (47-31).

Despite baskets from Ducharme and senior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.), Holy Cross opened the game with a 21-4 lead with 3:37 to play in the first quarter. A 3-point play from Love, corner 3-pointer from Gaziano, and long jumper from Rosant brought Brown within 29-12 at the end of the first quarter.

In the first five minutes of the second quarter, Gaziano scored seven points and Ducharme converted a 3-point play, cutting the margin to 37-22 with 5:17 to go in the stanza. After the Crusaders pulled ahead 42-22, Brown used an 11-3 run – including 3-pointers from Rosant and Gaziano – to trim the deficit to 45-33. Holy Cross led 47-33 at the break.

Brown outscored Holy Cross, 21-18, in the second quarter after the Crusaders hit 10-of-16 field goals (62.5 percent) and 3-of-4 triples in the opening stanza. In the first half, Holy Cross made 16-of-27 field goals (59.3 percent) and 4-of-6 treys.

The Bears hit five 3-pointers in the third quarter as treys from Dale, Rosant, Gaziano, and Mullin brought Brown within 60-47 with 2:58 to play in the third quarter. Another triple from Mullin kept the Bears within 67-51 through three quarters.

Ducharme netted the Bears' first six points of the fourth quarter, making the margin 75-57 with 4:34 to play. Gaziano and Mullin each hit 3-pointers as part of a 12-2 run that sliced the deficit to 81-71 with 33 seconds left before the Crusaders held on for the win.

Next, Brown competes at the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on the campus of Bryant University from Dec. 7-8 beginning with a semifinal match-up against the University of Rhode Island on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2:00 p.m. (NEC Front Row).

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.