PROVIDENCE, RI—Brown poured in 44 second half points for a convincing 67-39 women's basketball victory over visiting NJIT in a Tuesday matinee at Pizzitola Sports Center.
Senior Sophie Bikofsky, who led the nation last season in three-point field goal percentage and set a record at Brown for three-point field goals made , led three double-figure scorers for Brown with a game-high 15 points and 8 rebounds. Bikofsky finished 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 6-for-6 from the charity strip.
Brown's (6-9) leading scorer on the season, Jordin Alexander, netted 12 points, while sophomore guard Rebecca Musgrove combined for a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The 10 rebounds were a game-high for the 5-foot-8 guard as the Bears held a 52-to-37 advantage on the glass.
NJIT (8-13) was led by sophomore forward Leah Horton for the second straight game with 11 points and seven rebounds while shooting 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Bianca Picard came off the bench and scored a new personal-best seven points in 13 minutes of action, while sophomore guard Alana Dudley added seven points.
Senior center Nicole Maticka grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added a game-high five blocks, raising her NJIT school-record mark to 213 blocks.
Brown scored the opening points of the game on a jumper by Musgrove at the 17-minute mark and the visitors got on the board after one-of-two free throws made by Horton and a jumper by Alana Dudley in the paint.
The Highlanders scored five straight points for a four-point lead, 10-6, after a three-pointer by Maticka at the 10:50 mark. Brown went on an 8-0 run to regain the early lead at 14-10 with 6:03 left to play in the first half.
NJIT's Horton knocked down a jumper with 4:44 left on the clock cutting the deficit down to two, 14-12. Brown pushed its advantage to five, 19-14, after a 6-2 run by the home team with 3:15 remaining in the first period.
The Highlanders slimmed the lead to three, 21-18, after one-of-two made at the free throw line by Maticka with 31 seconds on the clock. Brown's Musgrove connected on a jumper with 12 seconds giving the Bears a 23-18 lead heading into the half.
NJIT's Leah Horton led all scorers in the first intermission with nine points while Brown's Musgrove netted eight points.
Brown opened up the second half on a 12-0 run taking a 17-point lead, 35-18. After a layup by NJIT's Bianca Picard at the 15:40 mark, Brown continued its run extending its advantage to 24, 47-23, after a three-pointer by Bikofsky with 9:22 left to play, which put Brown up for good.
The run of Ivy opposition ends on Saturday, January 24, when the Highlanders host Penn at 2 pm in the Fleisher Athletic Center.
