Women’s basketball drops two games, extends losing streak to four

Despite two impressive come-from-behind efforts, women’s basketball (10-13, 4-6 Ivy League) arrived back in Providence with nothing to show for their weekend visit south. The Bears lost back-to-back games on the road against Ivy League rivals Princeton (18-5, 9-1) and Penn (13-10, 4-6). 

The Bears began their weekend tour in New Jersey against the Tigers, who beat Bruno in early February. But to the Bears’ dismay, this game was strikingly similar to their last. Early offensive struggles buried Brown in a hole that they could never dig themselves out of. Fueled by a shooting clinic from sophomore guard Ashley Chea, the Tigers’ offense erupted to start the game. 

Eight minutes into the first quarter, Princeton had a dominant 30-10 lead over Brown.  Offensively, Princeton was getting whatever they wanted, facilitating their sets to perfection and creating open shooting opportunities for their backcourt. At the same time, Princeton’s aggressive defense flustered the Bears’ offense, forcing turnovers and preventing Bruno from developing a consistent rhythm. 

But to Brown’s credit, the Bears never gave up. Spearheaded by Olivia Young ’27, who finished with a team-high 13 points, Brown managed to string together a few solid offensive possessions in the second quarter, attacking the gaps of Princeton’s defense and creating shots. While the Tigers’ defense prevented the Bears from getting shots inside the paint, the Bears capitalized on some vacant space along the perimeter and passed the ball to Isabella Mauricio ’25 and Mady Calhoun ’26, both of whom finished with 10 points.

At the half, the Bears were down 49-26. Looking for a new spark on the court, Head Coach Monique LeBlanc turned to her substitutes. The bench provided the Bears with a much-needed jolt out of halftime, leading the team to score 22 points in the third quarter alone — almost as many as they scored in the entire first half. 

But despite the Bears’ newfound energy, the Tigers’ offense kept rolling, creating an insurmountable lead. In the fourth quarter, Brown held Princeton to only 12 points, but still lost the game 78-67.

After Friday’s tough loss, the Bears headed to Philadelphia on Saturday. But this game against Penn had a similar story: A lack of scoring early in the game created an insurmountable deficit. 

In the first quarter, the Bears came out strong, facilitating their offensive plays well and getting high-percentage shots to fall within the rim. Brown relied heavily on center Gianna Aiello ’25, who led the team with 18 points and eight rebounds. Aiello’s efforts proved to be vital, as she kept the Bears within striking distance after the first quarter ended with Penn leading 15-12. 

But similar to Friday’s contest against Princeton, the Bears struggled defensively in the second quarter. Penn’s offense increased their pace, outscoring the Bears 18-6 in the second quarter alone. The combination of an offensive drought and defensive struggles dug the Bears into a deep hole. 

Brown came out strong in the third quarter, led by Grace Arnolie ’26, who finished with 17 points, and Beth Nelson ’26, who finished with 13. Arnolie and Nelson’s offensive efforts helped the Bears crawl back, outscoring Penn 25-24 in the third quarter. But despite the late effort, the Quakers’ double-digit lead heading into the fourth quarter was too much for the Bears to handle.  Brown lost 73-61, extending their losing streak to four and dropping them to fifth in Ivy League standings. 

“Obviously we were fighting for a different outcome,” LeBlanc said in a statement to Brown Athletics. “We let it get away from us there in the second quarter, and it’s really tough to overcome a gap like that against a good team.” 

Brown will now shift their attention to Harvard (19-3, 8-2), whom the Bears will host at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.