Gaziano Nets 26 Points, Women’s Basketball Falls at South Florida, 70-60

Monday, December 30

Tampa, Fla.

5:30 PM

Brown University

6-7,0-0Ivy League

South Florida

8-6,0-0AAC

Brown

South Fla.

Gaziano Nets 26 Points, Women’s Basketball Falls at South Florida, 70-60

12/30/2019 8:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – Senior guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 26 points and tied her career high with six 3-pointers made, but Brown University women's basketball fell at the University of South Florida, 70-60, on Monday night at the Yuengling Center in its non-conference finale.

The Bears (6-7) held a 33-28 lead at halftime, remained within 49-47 of the Bulls (8-6) with under a minute to play in the third quarter, and kept the margin within two possessions at 60-54 with 4:50 to go before the hosts – who have played in five of the last six NCAA tournaments – held on for the win.

"I'm really proud of the way that we competed against a team that is a perennial NCAA tournament participant," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We shot the ball well from 3-point distance and made 12 threes for the second straight game. We showed a lot of positive signs during these two games in Florida, and we'll look to carry those over into Ivy play."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) scored her 26 points on 8-of-20 field goals, 6-of-10 3-pointers, and 4-of-6 free throws, netting 26 points for the second straight night after also scoring 26 in the Bears' 72-57 win at FIU on Sunday. She tied her career high with six 3-pointers made, matching a mark that she set a year ago to the date – at Chicago State on December 30, 2018.

Gaziano posted her 35^th career 20-point game, fifth such game of the season, and second straight. She has now scored in double figures 77 times in her career and nine times on the year.

Junior guard McKenna Dale (Storrs, Conn.) tallied 16 points and made 4-of-8 shots from 3-point distance, setting a career high for 3-pointers made against a Division I opponent. She averaged 16.5 points per game during the team's two games in Florida. Dale has now scored in double figures in four straight games and in six games on the year.

Junior guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) dished out a season and game-high six assists to go with seven points.

Senior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) added four points and four rebounds, sophomore guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) tallied three points and three boards, sophomore forward Ashley Ducharme (Milton, Mass.) tacked on six boards and two assists, and sophomore forward Alana Kelley (Phoenix, Ariz.) chipped in four rebounds.

The Bears hit a season-high 12 3-pointers for the second straight night, knocking down 12-of-27 shots (44.4 percent) from 3-point distance. Brown held a 36-18 edge in points from behind the arc while USF countered with edges in points in the paint (28-6) and rebounds (45-33). Brown closed its trip to Florida with a 1-1 mark after topping Florida International University, 72-57, yesterday.

For USF, Elena Tsineke scored 17 points while Bethy Mununga (16 points, 14 rebounds) and Tamara Henshaw (15 points, 10 boards) both posted double-doubles. Kristyna Brabencova added 16 points and eight boards.

The Bears opened the game with a 13-5 lead at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter behind eight points from Gaziano – including two 3-pointers – a jumper from Leonidas, and a trey from Dale. Mullin connected on the Bears' fourth 3-pointer of the frame to give Brown a 16-11 edge before USF used an 8-0 run to pull ahead 19-16. A jumper from Green just prior to the buzzer sliced the margin to 19-18 at the end of one.

Gaziano and Leonidas each knocked down a 3-pointer inside the first two minutes of the second quarter to push Brown ahead 24-21. After USF scored seven straight points to move ahead 28-24 with 6:51 left in the period, the Bears closed the half on a 9-0 run, taking a 33-28 halftime lead. Gaziano hit two more 3-pointers during the run before Dale hit a jumper to close the half's scoring.

The Bears gained a lead at the break behind 8-of-15 shooting (53.3 percent) from 3-point distance while limiting the Bulls to 3-of-13 shooting (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. Brown held USF without a point over the final 6:51 of the opening 20 minutes.

Despite four points from Gaziano, USF began the second half on a 14-4 run, taking a 42-37 edge with 5:52 to go in the third quarter. A layup from freshman forward Fiona Finn (West Roxbury, Mass.) and 3-pointers from Gaziano and Dale brought Brown back within 49-47 with 54 seconds left in the stanza. USF then brought a 51-47 margin into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth frame, the Bulls pulled ahead 58-47 behind a 9-0 run before Dale hit a pair of triples to trim the deficit to 60-54 with 4:50 remaining. Two free throws apiece from Dale, Green, and Leonidas kept Brown within 67-60 with 26.8 seconds left before USF held on for the win.

Next, Brown opens Ivy League play at Yale on Friday, January 17 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+/NESN).

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.