Brown Holds Off Yale, 60-56
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – All season long,
defense has led to wins for the Yale women’s basketball team.
Friday night at Brown in the Ivy League opener, however, the
Bears’ defense was just a little bit better as the home team
edged the Bulldogs in a defensive battle by a score of 60-56.
Junior Mady Gobrecht posted a double-double with 15 points and 10
rebounds to lead Yale.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in Ivy
League play. Brown snaps a five-game losing streak, improving to
4-11 and opening Ancient Eight competition at 1-0.
“Brown wanted it more than we did,” said Chris
Gobrecht, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of
Women’s Basketball at Yale. “They played hard and
deserved to win.”
Junior Yoyo Greenfield and freshman Megan Vasquez joined Gobrecht
in double figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively. As a team,
the Bulldogs shot 29.5% (18-61) from the field, 14.3% (2-14) from
beyond the arc and 72% (18-25) from the free throw line. Yale won
the battle on the boards, 52-42, but committed 27 turnovers,
including 17 in the second half. Senior Haywood Wright led the
defense effort with five blocked shots.
Aileen Daniels paced Brown with 15 points, while Lindsay Nickel (11
points) and Hannah Passafuime (10) also reached double figures.
Natalie Bonds hauled in 10 rebounds and swatted four Yale shots.
The Bears shot 35.9% (23-64) from the floor, 25% (2-8) from
downtown and 60% (12-20) from the line.
The Bulldogs held Brown to just two points over the first 7:19 of
the contest en route to claiming a 7-2 lead, but the Bears battled
back as the score was soon tied at 9-9. Yale would net the next
four points, courtesy of two Melissa Colborne free throws and a
Gobrecht layup, and maintained its slim lead to the intermission,
heading to the locker room with a 27-25 advantage.
Gobrecht led the Bulldogs with nine points, six rebounds and four
assists in the first 20 minutes of action. Greenfield added six
points as Yale shot 25% (8-32) from the floor, 0-6 from three-point
range and 73.3% (11-15) from the charity stripe. Nickel shared the
half high with nine points to pace the Bears’ offense, while
Bonds grabbed seven rebounds first-half rebounds. As a team, Brown
led on the glass by a 27-23 margin. The Bulldogs had the edge in
turnovers, committing 10 while forcing 14 Bears’ miscues and
converting them into 11 points.
Just as they had done in the first half, the Bulldogs opened the
second frame on a fast-paced 7-2 run to claim a 34-27 lead. Brown
would once again rally, this time coming all the way back to take
its first lead of the game at 39-37 with 11:51 left in regulation.
The Bears kept Yale at arm’s length over the next several
minutes, before a Vasquez three-point play knotted the score at
48-48. Vasquez would come through on the next possession as well,
swiping the ball and going coast to coast to give the lead back to
the Bulldogs, 50-48, with 4:41 on the clock. Brown would respond by
tallying the next eight points to regain a 56-50 advantage with
time rapidly running out. Yale fight back to within two points in
the final minute, but the Bears hit their free throws down the
stretch to preserve the 60-56 win.
Yale returns to the Ocean State on Monday, Jan. 18 to wrap-up the
2009-10 non-conference slate with a 2 p.m. contest in Smithfield,
R.I. at Bryant. Ivy League play resumes on Friday, Jan. 22 as the
Bulldogs close out the home-and-home series with Brown. Tip-off
from the John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven is scheduled for 7
p.m.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity