Mehta Nets 19 Points, Women’s Basketball Falls at Columbia, 93-62

Friday, March 1

New York, N.Y.

7:00 PM

Brown University

9-18, 1-10Ivy

Columbia

8-16, 4-7Ivy

Brown

Columbia

Mehta Nets 19 Points, Women’s Basketball Falls at Columbia, 93-62

3/1/2019 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Senior guard Shayna Mehta scored 19 points and made 4-of-4 3-pointers, but Brown University women's basketball fell at Columbia University, 93-62, on Friday night at Levien Gymnasium.

The Bears (9-18, 1-10 Ivy) led 23-18 early in the second quarter before the Lions (8-16, 4-7 Ivy) outscored the visitors 25-5 over the rest of the half to take a 43-28 lead at the break and went ahead 61-32 midway through the third quarter.

"Columbia played very well and executed on both offense and defense," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We did some good things early in the game and have to try to do that more consistently tomorrow against Cornell."

Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) netted her 19 points on 7-of-12 field goals, 4-of-4 treys, and 1-of-1 free throws. She scored in double figures for the 23^rd time this season and 90^th time in her career and now has 1,734 career points. She made her 102^nd career start, tying for the third-most games started in program history.

Junior guard Justine Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) tallied 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. She scored in double figures for the 23^rd time this year and 67^th time in her career, moving into seventh place in program history with 1,359 career points and passing Liz Turner '98 (1,358 points). Gaziano has 497 points on the season – the fourth-most in a single season in school history.

Sophomore guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added seven points and five rebounds. Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) chipped in five points, five boards, two assists, and two steals and played in her 111^th career game, matching Megan Reilly '18 for the program record for career games played.

For Columbia, Janiya Clemmons led three 20-point scorers with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting alongside seven assists and six rebounds. Sienna Durr netted 22 points on 9-of-15 field goals, and Riley Casey notched 20 points on 7-of-12 field goals.

For the game, Columbia shot 52.2 percent from the floor (36-of-69) and held a 30-11 lead in points off turnovers. The Bears hit 9-of-22 3-pointers (40.9 percent).

Inside of the game's first five minutes, Gaziano and Mehta each hit a 3-pointer to give Brown an 8-6 lead. Five straight points from Gaziano pushed the Bears ahead 17-13 with 2:05 left in the first quarter, and a 3-pointer from Leonidas helped the Bears maintain a 20-18 edge at the end of one. Brown made 4-of-7 3-pointers in the frame.

Mehta connected on a triple to open the second stanza, staking Brown to a 23-18 edge. Columbia responded with a 22-2 run, pulling ahead 40-25 with 2:18 left in the half. Another 3-pointer from Mehta – who went 3-for-3 on treys in the first half – brought Brown within 43-28 at the break.

In the first half, the Lions made 18-of-31 field goals (58.1 percent) and 6-of-12 treys (50.0 percent). In the second quarter, Columbia shot 62.5 percent from the floor (10-of-16) while Brown shot 16.7 percent (2-of-12).

After Brown remained within 45-30 off a layup from senior guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.), the Lions used a 16-2 run to pull ahead 61-32 with 4:41 to play in the third quarter. An old-fashioned 3-point play from Mehta stopped the run. Mehta netted five more points in the quarter, including her fourth trey of the game, as Brown trailed Columbia 71-46 through three.

In the fourth quarter, freshman forward Alana Kelley (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored four points, and freshman guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) and sophomore forward Morgan Clausen (Algonquin, Ill.) each netted a 3-pointer.

Next, Brown closes its four-game road swing at Cornell tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 2, at 4:00 p.m. (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.