Brown women's basketball rolls to 5th straight win. What's next for the Bears?
PROVIDENCE — It’ll be a while before we see the Brown women in home action again, and we should have a better idea how to reflect upon this first full month of the season.
The record, the winning streak, the initial NET ranking — they all suggest the Bears could be on the way to something encouraging in 2023-24. Their stretch away from the East Side until a Jan. 15 meeting with Harvard could either confirm or contradict that line of thinking.
For now, Brown is rolling. Stingy defense early and hot 3-point shooting late fueled a 74-54 cruise past UMass Lowell, a fifth straight victory for the Bears into a weekend trip to New Hampshire. They’ll endure a 21-day break following that encounter with the Wildcats and play four additional road games before entertaining the Crimson.
More: From ice cold to red hot, here's how Isabella Mauricio led Brown basketball past Bryant.
“We just feel good,” Brown forward Alyssa Moreland said. “We’re confident, which helps. We shot well tonight, which also helps. We’re going to feel good.
“We’re going to try to keep this winning streak going as long as they can.”
Moreland and Isabella Mauricio shared team-high honors with 14 points. They each contributed in a key area — Moreland with five of her team’s 11 steals, Mauricio with four of their season-high 12 3-pointers. Grace Arnolie and Ada Anamekwe each added 13 points to a commanding performance at Pizzitola Center.
“The whole team has been working hard,” Mauricio said. “To have multiple players in double figures tonight just shows how far we’ve come. I’m excited to see where we keep going.”
Mauricio endured a 6-20 overall finish in her first year — that included a lone Ivy League victory in 14 tries. Brown improved to 11-15 overall in 2022-23 and is now off to a 7-3 start after dusting the River Hawks. The Bears sat fourth in the NET rankings behind the established power trio of Columbia, Princeton and Harvard when the NCAA released that first batch Monday morning.
“We’ve got to be great defensively and we’ve got to rebound a lot better than we have in the past,” Brown coach Monique LeBlanc said. “We think we’re playing pretty good defense and we’re rebounding pretty well. To see our NET ranking show that as well, we’re keying in on the right things.”
Brown didn’t waste much time opening this one up. Moreland’s steal and runout for a layup made it a 20-13 cushion after one quarter. The Bears enjoyed a 38-25 advantage at halftime thanks to edges of 11-6 off turnovers and 8-2 on the fast break. Those margins ballooned to 16-12 and 20-3 by the finish.
“It’s hard to set up in halfcourt offense every time,” Moreland said. “It’s nice to get out and play with each other and find the open person.”
Brown took care of Johnson & Wales over the weekend to fill an open Sunday date, and it might have hit on something in the process. The Bears knocked down 10 3-pointers in a blowout of the Wildcats — that was a new season high and atypical of a team that entered Tuesday shooting just 22.1% from deep. Brown was 12-for-28 in this one, with Mauricio closing 4-for-10 and Arnolie connecting at 3-for-7.
“To have them falling the last two games, it kind of opens up our offense,” Mauricio said. “It creates more driving lanes. It’s nice to see.”
UMass Lowell (0-8) shot just 38.5% and finished with 19 turnovers. The River Hawks became the seventh opponent held under 60 points by Brown this season — the Bears are now a perfect 7-0 in those games. That includes pinning a lone loss to date on Georgetown in a 45-43 road grinder.
“When you look at the four teams who have made Ivy Madness, we need to acknowledge those are the four top defenses in the league,” LeBlanc said. “Nobody is sneaking in because they score points.”
Brown will take an extended exam break after visiting New Hampshire — its next two games will be played just three days apart at San Diego and San Francisco on Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, respectively. Mauricio expects to be leaving tickets by the dozen for the Torreros and Dons while returning to her native California. Conference play follows with Dartmouth and Yale on the road before what will be a long-awaited homecoming.
“We’re very happy with our performance right now,” Moreland said. “But like coach said in the locker room, we’re looking to see what we can improve.”
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brown women's basketball defeats UMass Lowell Tuesday night in Providence
