Women’s Basketball Drops 66-48 Decision at Cornell

Saturday, March 2

Ithaca, N.Y.

4:00 PM

Brown University

9-19, 1-11Ivy

Cornell

11-12, 5-7Ivy

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Brown	14	6	14	14	48
Cornell	22	12	19	13	66

Women’s Basketball Drops 66-48 Decision at Cornell

3/2/2019 6:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior guard Justine Gaziano scored 15 points and became the third student-athlete in program history to score 500 points in a season, but Brown University women's basketball dropped a 66-48 decision at Cornell University on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena.

Playing in their final road game of the year, the Bears (9-19, 1-11 Ivy) remained within 44-34 at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter before the host Big Red (11-12, 5-7 Ivy) used a 13-0 run to pull ahead 57-34 with 7:25 remaining in the fourth.

"Cornell executed very well and had a good game plan on defense," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We have to look forward to our last two games next weekend as we honor our seniors for all their contributions to the program over the last four years."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) scored in double figures for the 24^th time this season and 68^th time in her career, while grabbing six rebounds. She now has 512 points on the season – the third-most in a single season in program history. It marks just the fourth 500-point season in school history and the team's first 500-point season since 1996-97. She joins Donna Yaffe '85 (twice) and Vita Redding '99 on the 500-point season list. Gaziano also moved into fourth place in single-season field goals (188) and fifth place in single-season 3-pointers (63) in program history.

Senior forward Erika Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while hitting 3-of-5 3-pointers. She scored in double figures for the 14^th time this year and 59^th time in her career. Steeves now has 800 career rebounds, becoming the fourth student-athlete in program history with 800 or more boards. Steeves played in her 112^th career game, becoming the Bears' all-time leader in games played and passing Megan Reilly '18.

Senior guard Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) finished with eight points and three steals. She now has 94 steals on the season – the eighth-most in a single season in Ivy League history. Mehta made two 3-pointers in the game and now has 60 3-pointers on the year – her fourth straight season with 60 or more 3-pointers.

Freshman guard Maddie Mullin (Wellesley, Mass.) contributed five points, five rebounds, and three assists while sophomore guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) dished out a game-high five assists.

For Cornell, Laura Bagwell-Katalinich scored a game-high 20 points with eight rebounds, Samantha Widmann posted a double-double on 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Dylan Higgins netted 10 points.

Brown made eight 3-pointers in the game, but Cornell countered with advantages in points in the paint (42-19) and rebounds (46-28).

Mehta connected on a pair of 3-pointers inside of the contest's first five minutes as Brown remained within 13-8 of the Big Red. After Cornell pulled ahead 22-10 on a 9-2 run, a 3-pointer from the top of the key from Steeves helped Brown cut the deficit to 22-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Cornell scored the first 12 points of the second quarter, gaining a 34-14 advantage, before Mullin and Gaziano each made a 3-pointer inside of the half's final 37 seconds to bring the score to 34-20 at the break.

The Bears made five 3-pointers in the first half, but Cornell responded with a 24-5 advantage in points in the paint, while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor.

Four points from Gaziano and a 3-pointer from Steeves allowed Brown to remain within 40-27 with 7:26 to go in the third quarter. A long jumper from Mullin and corner trey from Gaziano trimmed the margin to 44-34 at the 3:58 mark. The Big Red then scored the stanza's final nine points to bring a 53-34 lead into the fourth frame.

Cornell went ahead 57-34 early in the fourth quarter, capping a 13-0 run. Later in the frame, Steeves connected on a 3-pointer, freshman guard Traiva Breedlove (Rochester, N.Y.) converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, and junior guard Randi Richardson (Flint, Mich.) scored her first basket of the season.

Next, Brown hosts Princeton on Friday, Mar. 8 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+) and Penn on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+) in the Class of 2019's final home games at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

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.