Women’s Basketball Drops 81-61 Decision to Dartmouth

Friday, February 1

Providence, R.I.

6:30 PM

Brown University

9-10, 1-2Ivy

Dartmouth

8-8, 1-2Ivy

Dartmouth

Brown

Women’s Basketball Drops 81-61 Decision to Dartmouth

2/1/2019 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Shayna Mehta tallied 17 points and six steals, and the Bears held a lead in the fourth quarter before Brown University women's basketball dropped an 81-61 decision to Dartmouth College on Friday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

Opening their first back-to-back Ivy League weekend of the year, the Bears (9-10, 1-2 Ivy) held a 59-57 lead with 7:26 remaining before the visiting Big Green (8-8, 1-2 Ivy) responded with a 21-0 run and closed the game on a 24-2 streak.

"It was a close game early in the fourth quarter before Dartmouth made a big run," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "Dartmouth deserves a lot of credit, but we also know that we can play a lot better. We'll put this result behind us and get ready for Harvard tomorrow."

Playing in her 100^th career game, Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) totaled 17 points, six steals, four rebounds, and three assists. She has now scored in double figures in 18 of 19 games this season and in 39 of her last 41 outings. She moved into 21^st in career scoring in Ivy League history with 1,625 career points and moved into ninth in Brown history with 268 career assists.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) posted 10 points and eight rebounds. She has scored in double figures in 13 of her last 15 games.

Freshman forward Elle Baker (Scottsdale, Ariz.) notched a career-high nine points with four rebounds, junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) registered eight points and nine boards, and senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) finished with seven points, five boards, and three assists.

In the fourth quarter, Dartmouth shot 69.2 percent from the floor (9-of-13) and limited Brown to 18.8 percent (3-of-16).

For Dartmouth, Anna Luce scored a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting while Paula Lenart posted a double-double on 14 points and 17 rebounds. Isalys Quinones (13 points) and Cy Lippold (12 points) rounded out the team's double-figure scorers.

Brown and Dartmouth remained tied at 11-11 with 3:01 to go in the first quarter behind a pair of jumpers from Mehta and a 3-pointer from Steeves. Layups from Gaziano and Baker pushed the Bears ahead 15-11 at the end of one.

Baskets in transition from Mehta and sophomore guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) kept Brown ahead 21-16 at the 6:54 mark of the second quarter. After Dartmouth gained a 31-26 edge, the Bears responded with a 10-2 run to take a 36-33 lead with 1:54 left in the half. Steeves and Baker both connected on 3-pointers during the run, and Brown remained ahead 36-35 at the break.

In the first half, Brown held a 9-0 lead in fast break points while Dartmouth countered with a 13-4 edge in second-chance points behind 14 offensive rebounds.

Two baskets from Mehta kept Brown up 40-37 early in the third quarter, and a layup from Leonidas maintained the margin at 44-41 at the midway point of the stanza. A baseline jumper from Mehta tied the score at 54-54 before the Big Green took a 57-54 edge into the fourth quarter.

The Bears scored the first five points of the fourth frame behind a corner trey from Gaziano and layup from Will to pull ahead 59-57 with 7:26 remaining. The Big Green responded with a 21-0 run, taking a 78-59 lead with 1:28 left, as Dartmouth closed the game on a 24-2 streak.

As part of the team's Lace Up 4 Pediatric Cancer game, the Bears wore gold shoelaces in support of the Go4theGoal Foundation and kids battling cancer.

Next, Brown completes its first back-to-back Ivy weekend with a match-up against Harvard tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 2, at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN+/NESN) in the team's annual "Think Pink" 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.