Women’s Basketball Falls to Cornell, 65-53

Friday, February 15

Providence, R.I.

7:00 PM

Brown University

9-14, 1-6Ivy

Cornell

8-10, 2-5Ivy

Cornell

Brown

Women’s Basketball Falls to Cornell, 65-53

2/15/2019 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Junior guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 17 points, but Brown University women's basketball fell to Cornell University, 65-53, on Friday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears (9-14, 1-6 Ivy) held a 36-35 lead at halftime and remained within 57-53 with 3:38 remaining before the visiting Big Red (8-10, 2-5 Ivy) closed the game on an 8-0 run.

"We couldn't get a lot of shots to fall tonight," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "Cornell had a good game plan and executed it well, but we also need to be more efficient in our offense. Our defense was better at times tonight, and hopefully we can carry that over into our game against Columbia tomorrow."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted her 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while adding four rebounds. She scored in double figures for the 19^th time this season and 63^rd time in her career and now has 1,286 career points.

Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) totaled 10 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, scoring in double figures for the 11^th time this year and 56^th time in her career.

Senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) tallied 10 points, five boards, five steals, and three assists, finishing in double figures for the 15^th time this year and 46^th time in her career. Junior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) added five boards.

Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) notched nine points and six steals. She now has 1,683 career points, moving into third place all-time at Brown and tied for 15^th place in Ivy League history. She now has 246 career made 3-pointers – tied for fifth in Ivy League history – and 83 steals on the year – tied for the third most in a single season in program history.

For the game, Brown forced Cornell into 28 turnovers and made 15 steals, while holding a 28-14 edge in points in the paint. The Big Red countered with a 47-30 advantage in rebounds and outscored the Bears 30-17 in the second half.

For Cornell, Laura Bagwell-Katalinich recorded a double-double on 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Kate Sramac scored 13 points. Samantha Widmann netted 11 points, and Danielle Jorgensen dished out a game-high six assists.

Five different Bears scored in the first quarter as the hosts took a 10-9 lead on the Big Red with 3:36 to go in the opening frame. A layup in traffic from Gaziano with under a minute to go in the quarter helped Brown remain within 16-14 of Cornell at the end of one.

Gaziano scored six points in the opening 3:30 of the second quarter, keeping the score tied at 24-24. A steal-and-score from sophomore guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) capped a 7-0 run that put Brown up 29-24 with 4:28 to go in the half. A jumper from Will and layup from Steeves put Brown up 35-30, and the Bears remained ahead 36-35 at the break.

In the first half, Brown held a 22-8 edge in points in the paint and forced the Big Red into 11 turnovers. The opening 20 minutes saw 10 ties and seven lead changes as neither team held a lead larger than five points.

In the third quarter, Brown went up 42-37 behind a 3-pointer from Will and a layup from Gaziano before the Big Red used a 13-0 run to pull ahead 50-42 with 1:28 left in the stanza. A jumper in the paint from Gaziano brought Brown within 50-44 heading to the fourth frame.

A wing 3-pointer from Steeves cut the deficit to 50-47 with 9:34 left, a trey from Mehta whittled the margin to 55-51 with 5:48 to go, and a layup from Gaziano made the score 57-53 with 3:38 remaining before Cornell scored the final eight points of the game.

As part of Faculty Appreciation Day, several of the Bears' student-athletes invited their professors to attend the game with an on-court recognition prior to the start of the second quarter.

Next, Brown hosts Columbia tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 16, at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+/NESN) to close the first half of its Ivy League round-robin schedule.

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.