PC Women’s Basketball Beats Bryant, Brown Handles URI In Inaugural Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament

Providence College & Brown University Press Releases

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College women’s basketball team defeated Bryant, 62-51, in the opening game of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday, Dec. 3 in Providence, R.I.  The Friars improve to 7-0 on the year, matching its best start since the 1990-91 season.  Bryant drops to 3-3 overall.

The two teams were knotted up, 26-26, at halftime as the Friars battled through an uncharacteristic shooting performance.  Providence hit just 11-32 shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play (.343).  Junior Allegra Botteghi (Bologna, Italy) kept the Friars in the mix with 11 first-half points on 5-9 shooting, and also added a team-best four rebounds.

In the third quarter, the game was tied 38-38 with 3:08 on the clock.  Bryant’s Ivory Bailey nailed a jump shot with 1:44 left to give the Bulldog’s a two-point advantage (40-38), but Providence closed out the quarter with a 6-0 scoring advantage to take a 44-40 lead.

The Friars would maintain their lead the rest of the way.  Providence pushed its lead to double figures (57-47) with 3:19 to play and held off the Bulldogs down the stretch.

Botteghi finished the day with 13 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing her second-straight double-double.  Sophomore Clara Che (Valencia, Spain) also tallied 13 points for Providence and added four rebounds and two assists. 

Senior Sarah Beal (Matthews, N.C.) chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and a team-best four assists and three steals.  Senior Aliyah Miller (Southaven, Miss.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and also contributed five rebounds.

The Friars advance to the championship game of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament, scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4.  Providence will face the winner of Brown and Rhode Island, who tipped off just after the Friars’ victory vs. Bryant.  The championship game will be preceded by a consolation game at 1:00 p.m.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sophomores Erika Steeves and Shayna Mehta both posted double-doubles to lead Brown University women’s basketball to a 76-65 win over the University of Rhode Island in the semifinals of the inaugural Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears (4-3) advance to face Providence College (7-0) in the title game of the tournament tomorrow, Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3:00 p.m. while the Rams (4-4) will meet Bryant University (3-3) in the consolation game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. PC beat Bryant 62-51 in the first semifinal.

“The first half was great, and it put us in a position that if we could maintain it, we could win which is what we did,” Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. “I’m happy with the progress that we’re making. We rebounded a lot better than we normally do against a big team.”

Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) scored a career-high 22 points to go with 10 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games, third of the season, and sixth of her career. She made a career-best 10 field goals on 18 attempts.

Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) tallied her second career double-double and first of the season on 15 points and 11 boards along with four assists. She has scored in double figures in all seven of Brown’s games this season.

Sophomore guard Taylor Will (Arlington Heights, Ill.) totaled 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists while classmate Mary Butler (Bangor, Maine) tallied six points on 3-of-4 shooting and six rebounds.

Junior guard Megan Reilly (Norwood, N.J.) grabbed a career-high eight rebounds and tacked on a game-best five assists and five points.

Brown never trailed and led for all but 69 seconds in the contest. The hosts took a lead as large as 22 points late in the third quarter and fended off a rally from the visiting Rams who pulled within seven points late in the fourth frame.

Steeves powered the Bears in the first quarter, scoring 11 points. She netted six points in the opening 2:47 to give Brown a 9-2 lead. A corner 3-pointer from freshman Kathleen Ryan (Clarence Center, N.Y.) pushed the Bears ahead 19-8 with 3:25 left in the quarter, and baskets from Steeves and Will kept the hosts up 23-14 after one.

After URI pulled within 23-17, Brown responded behind a 12-4 run with Mehta capping the streak with six straight points to give the Bears a 35-21 lead with 5:30 to play until halftime. A Will bucket on the inside off a Steeves pass made it 44-27 at the 2:22 mark, two free throws from freshman Lames ElGammal (Baldwin, N.Y.) gave Brown its largest lead of the half at 48-30, and the Bears took a 48-33 lead into the break.

Midway through the third quarter, a driving layup from Will extended Brown’s lead to 20 points for the first time at 59-39. A basket on the inside from Ryan gave the Bears their largest lead at 61-39 with 3:18 to play in the third stanza. The Rams closed the period on a 10-1 stretch to cut their deficit to 62-49 heading to the fourth quarter.

With Brown still leading 70-53 with 7:35 remaining, URI scored 10 straight points to pull within 70-63 with 3:10 to play. Baskets from Butler, Mehta, and Steeves helped stem the run and give the Bears back a double-digit lead.

For Rhode Island, Charise Wilson scored 27 points – the highest point total on the first day of the tournament – alongside eight rebounds. Dominique Ward added 11 points and nine boards.

After the completion of the Ocean State Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday, Brown plays at Vermont on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 11:30 a.m. prior to breaking for finals.