Gaziano Scores 21, Women’s Basketball Falls Just Short against Harvard, 63-59

Friday, March 6

Providence, R.I.

6:00 PM

Brown University

8-18, 2-11Ivy

Harvard

15-11, 6-7Ivy

Harvard

Brown

Gaziano Scores 21, Women’s Basketball Falls Just Short against Harvard, 63-59

3/6/2020 8:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Justine Gaziano scored a game-high 21 points and moved into 10^th place in Ivy League history in career scoring, but Brown University women's basketball fell just short against Harvard University, 63-59, on Friday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The Bears (8-18, 2-11 Ivy) turned a 14-point second quarter deficit into a four-point third quarter lead with a 22-4 run, remained ahead 44-43 with 7:45 to play, and whittled a 10-point fourth quarter deficit down to three points twice in the final 1:23 before the visiting Crimson (15-11, 6-7 Ivy) held on for the win.

"We played really hard tonight and never quit," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "We came back from a deficit at halftime and had a lead in the fourth quarter. Even when we went down 10 in the fourth, we battled back to get it to one possession twice."

Gaziano (Natick, Mass.) netted her 21 points on 9-of-20 field goals and 3-of-9 3-pointers, increasing her career point total to 1,808 career points – 10^th-best in Ivy League history. She is the second player in program history and 11^th player in Ivy history to score 1,800 career points.

She tallied over 20 points for the ninth time this year and 39^th time in her career and scored in double figures for the 20^th time this season and 88^th time in her career. She now has 647 career field goals passing Donna Yaffe '85 (645 field goals) to move into third in program history. Gaziano also has 207 career 3-pointers and 307 career free throws.

Junior guard McKenna Dale (Storrs, Conn.) posted 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while making 3-of-9 treys. She scored in double figures for the 17^th time this season.

Freshman forward Dani Short (Aliquippa, Pa.) registered career highs in points (nine), field goals (4-of-6), and steals (four), while grabbing six rebounds. Junior guard Dominique Leonidas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) dished out a game-high seven assists to go with six points and four steals. Freshman forward Fiona Finn (West Roxbury, Mass.) and senior center Haley Green (Salem, Va.) corralled seven and six rebounds respectively.

For Harvard, Lola Mullaney tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, Tess Sussman scored 13 points, and Rachel Levy snared a game-high 17 rebounds.

Brown held advantages in points in the paint (30-20) and fast break points (12-2), while forcing Harvard into 20 turnovers. The Bears limited the Crimson to six points on 2-of-13 field goals and 0-of-8 3-pointers in the third quarter, but Harvard made 6-of-12 field goals, 4-of-6 treys, and just enough free throws (9-of-17) in the fourth quarter to emerge with the win.

The Bears scored the first 10 points of the second half behind seven points from Gaziano and a trey from Dale to pull ahead 34-32 at the 7:03 mark of the third quarter. A layup from Short capped a 13-1 run to begin the half – and a 22-4 run overall – as Brown remained up 37-33 with 2:21 to go in the stanza. A jumper from Dale kept the Bears up 41-38 heading to the fourth quarter.

Brown still held a 44-43 edge with 7:45 to play before Harvard used an 11-0 run to re-gain a 54-44 advantage with 3:45 left. The Bears countered with an 8-1 burst behind six points from Dale and a layup from Gaziano, slicing the margin to 55-52 with 1:23 to play. A layup from Short, 3-pointer from Dale, and layup from Gaziano kept the Bears within 62-59 with 12.8 seconds to go before Harvard held on for the win.

The Bears opened the game with a 6-2 lead behind baskets from Dale, Leonidas, and Gaziano before Harvard took a 12-6 edge with a 10-0 run. A layup from Short and 3-pointer from freshman guard Sydney Rosant (Foster City, Ga.) cut the margin to 12-11 with 3:03 left in the frame before the Crimson went up 18-11 at the end of the first.

A 3-pointer from Gaziano to start the second quarter trimmed the margin to 18-14 prior to Harvard moving ahead 29-15 with an 11-1 spurt. The Bears responded with nine unanswered points with baskets from Short and Finn starting the run before five points from Gaziano brought the Bears within 29-24 with 3:04 to play in the half. Harvard led 32-24 at the break.

In the first half, the Crimson connected on 50.0 percent of its field goals (12-of-24) while the Bears made 10-of-35 field goals (28.6 percent). Brown led 6-0 in fast break points while the two teams stood tied in points in the paint (14-14) and second-chance points (7-7).

Next, Brown hosts Dartmouth in its season finale tomorrow – Saturday, Mar. 7 – at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+) for Senior Night.

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.