The women's basketball team (5-4) defeated URI Saturday and Providence College Sunday to take home the Brown Bear Classic championship, their second tournament win in two weeks.
Brown 66, URI 54
Co-captain Hannah Passafuime '12 and guard Sheila Dixon '13 led the team in its victory against URI (1-7) with 16 points apiece. Passafuime also put in a career-high six assists.
The Bears and Rams traded baskets for the first 10 minutes of the game. With 12:15 remaining, Brown got a lift from Lindsey Nickel '13, who swished two back-to-back three-point shots in a 30-second period to put the Bears up 18-11.
The Rams slowly put points back on the board and were within two at the seven-minute mark, but co-captain Aileen Daniels '12 scored six straight points to increase the Bears' lead to eight with 45 seconds remaining. Passafuime then netted a three-point shot with 10 seconds left in the first half, putting the Bears ahead 32-21.
In the second half, the Bears continued their aggressive play. At the 11-minute mark, Nickel repeated her first-half performance, netting back-to-back treys to give the Bears their biggest lead of the night, 52-29.
But in the last 10 minutes of the half, the Rams picked up eight opportunities at the free-throw line, putting up 13 points. Shooting 82 percent from the foul line, the team slowly cut its deficit down, but the Bears held on 66-54.
The Bears shot 53 percent from the three-point line and 46 percent from the field. Bruno's defense showed its might Saturday — half of Brown's points came off URI's 25 turnovers.
"We have always professed defense," said Head Coach Jean Burr. "We have a very athletic and strong team."
Brown 70, Providence 57
In the final game of the tournament, Brown took on Providence College (4-4) Sunday afternoon.
"This is a Big East team," Burr said. "We have to be physical. We have to be strong."
The Bears allowed the Friars just 13 points in the first half. Before the buzzer, Bruno went on a 16-0 run and walked into the locker room with a 36-13 lead.
Dixon netted 13 of her career-high 26 game points in the first half, shooting 67 percent from the field and 80 percent from the three-point line.
"Dixon was consistent through the whole game," Burr said. "She was very aggressive at both ends. She definitely hit some key baskets for us."
After the break, the Friars rallied, going on a 13-0 run to cut the Bruno lead to 36-26.
"It's basketball — it's a game of runs, and you're never going to have a team that just lies down and dies," Burr said.
Though the Friars went on to outscore the Bears 44-34 in the second half, they would never get closer than 10, giving the Bears a 70-57 win and the Brown Bear Classic title.
