Alexander’s Late Basket Helps Brown Women’s Hoops Edge Binghamton

Brown University Press Release

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Jordin Alexander hit a running floater in the lane off the glass as time expired to give Brown University women’s basketball a 67-65 win over Binghamton University on Thursday night at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

“I’m just really grateful that we squeaked it out. It wasn’t the prettiest one, but thank goodness Jordin made that shot,” Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. “Binghamton’s an athletic team. I’ve been worried about them. They played a tough non-league schedule.”

Alexander (Fishers, Ind.) finished the night with 18 points and raced down the floor to convert the game-deciding shot after the Bearcats’ Imani Watkins tied it at 65-65 with 6.1 seconds to play.

“Jordin’s pretty quick with the ball. Fortunately we were smart enough to get it to her, and she did her job,” Behn said. “It shouldn’t have come down to that, but we’ll just have to get back to basics.”

With the victory over the visiting Bearcats (2-5), the Bears (7-1) are off to their best start through eight games since the team began and ended the year 11-1 in 1973-74. Brown improved to 6-0 at home on the season with the victory.

Brown took a 65-61 lead with 1:01 remaining after freshman Shayna Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing off a cross-court pass from Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.).

Binghamton pulled within 65-63 with 50 seconds to go after a Watkins lay-up. Alexander made a critical steal with 23 seconds on the clock before the visitors regained possession and drew level at 65-65 on Watkins’ bucket.

Alexander scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season and tacked on five assists and four steals. Musgrove and freshman Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) each posted 12 points and three assists and grabbed eight and seven rebounds respectively. Butler set a career high for points while Musgrove tallied double digits for the fifth time this year.

Both teams played within two possessions of each other over the entire first quarter with the Bearcats holding an 18-17 lead after one period.

Trailing 23-19 in the second quarter, the Bears used a 14-2 run to pull ahead 33-25 with 5:49 to play in the half. Musgrove notched seven points during the run, starting the streak with a 3-pointer, and Butler added five points. Brown took a 39-33 lead into the break after a jump shot from Musgrove closed the half’s scoring.

Brown led 51-43 at the 3:53 mark of the third quarter after a pair of baskets from sophomore Kennedy Martin (Los Angeles, Calif.), a layup from senior Ellise Sharpe (Tipp City, Ohio), and a free throw from sophomore Savannah Johnson (Fort Washington, Md.). The hosts maintained a 58-50 edge through three frames.

The Bears led 62-55 with 4:19 to go before the visitors scored six straight points to cut their deficit to 62-61 prior to Mehta’s 3-pointer with just over a minute left.

For Binghamton, Watkins finished with 18 points and seven assists while Alyssa James netted a game-high 19 points. Kristin Ross snared nine rebounds, and Rebecca Carmody had 14 points.

Next, Brown completes the Ocean State circuit with a game at Bryant University on Sunday at 1 p.m.