NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Last season, the Yale
women’s basketball team dropped its Ivy League opener to
Brown, only to come back and trounce the Bears by 34 points just
one week later. The Bulldogs were looking for history to repeat
itself at the John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven on Friday, and
they got it, avenging last week’s four-point defeat at Brown
with a 67-43 home victory. 10 different players scored for the
Bulldogs, led by 11 points each from junior Yoyo Greenfield and
sophomore Michelle Cashen.
“This was the first time in a while that we played up to our
potential,” said Chris Gobrecht, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of
1954 Head Coach of Women’s Basketball at Yale. “We did
a great job defensively and we took care of the ball on
offense.”
Yale committed a season-low 13 turnovers, finishing the game with
no miscues in the final 10:17.
“Brown is a tough team,” said Gobrecht of Yale’s
opponents. “They’re going to beat some Ivy teams this
year.”
With the win, Yale improves to 6-10 overall and evens its Ivy
League mark at 1-1. The Bulldogs were playing at home for the first
time in 2010 following a 33-day, seven-game road trip. Brown falls
to 4-12 overall and with a 1-1 record in the Ancient Eight.
Joining Greenfield and Cashen in double figures was senior Haywood
Wright, who netted 10 points. Wright also eclipsed the century mark
in career blocked shots, swatting two Brown offerings to raise her
career total to 101. Freshman Megan Vasquez, the Bulldogs’
leading scorer in 2009-10, had eight points and hauled in a
career-best nine rebounds. Senior Melissa Colborne also poured in
eight points, while junior Mady Gobrecht and freshman Michelle
Cashen each tallied six. Gobrecht also pulled down eight rebounds
as Yale was barely edged on the glass, 42-41. Junior Victoria Perez
had three points for Yale, and senior captain Ashley Carter and
freshman Ericka von Kaeppler rounded out the Bulldogs’
scoring effort with two points apiece.
As a team, Yale shot 37.9% (22-58) from the floor, 33.3% (5-15)
from three-point range and 66.7% (18-27) from the free throw line.
Brown, which was led by a double-double from Natalie Bonds (10
pts., 11 rebs.), shot just 26.9% (14-52) from the field, 20% (1-5)
from long range and 72.7% (14-19) from the charity stripe. In
addition to committing just 13 turnovers of their own, the Bulldogs
forced 25 Brown miscues in the contest.
The Bears started the contest on the offensive, leading by as many
as five points en route to holding a 12-8 lead at the 13:23 mark.
The Bulldogs, who missed five of their eight shots from the field,
hit their stride at that point as four quick points from Colborne
incited a 12-0 run that put Yale on top, 20-12. Brown responded in
kind, however, netting the next 10 points to take a two-point lead
at 22-20. The Bears would hold their two-point lead deep into the
first half, but Yale notched the final five points of the period to
enter the intermission with a three-point cushion at 27-24.
Bonds would score all 10 of her points in the first half, as she
was held scoreless in 13 minutes of second-half action prior to
fouling out. Yale was led by six first-half points from Wright,
Cashen and Messimer. Despite hitting four fewer field goals in the
half and just one three pointer to Yale’s four, the Bears
stayed in the game thanks to a perfect 11-for-11 performance from
the free throw line. Yale shot 50% (4-8) from the stripe in
addition to a 35.7% (10-28) showing from the floor and a 33.3%
(3-9) half from downtown.
The second half saw the back-and-forth battle resume, as the score
ran to a 35-35 tie with 10:45 remaining in regulation. After the
Bulldogs committed their 13th and final turnover on the ensuing
possession, a jumper from Brown’s Sheila Dixon gave the Bears
the lead that would ultimately be their last at 37-35. A Greenfield
three-pointer on the Bulldogs’ next trip gave the advantage
back to Yale, 38-37, and the home team would roll off 12 straight
points to claim its first double-digit lead at 47-37 with 6:28
remaining. Another 10-0 run late in the half would put the contest
firmly out of reach as Yale pulled away for a convincing 67-43
victory.
The 24-point margin of victory was the largest for Yale since
defeating Brown by 34 points last season in Providence. The
Bulldogs and Bears have split the season series in each of the last
two seasons.
Yale will look to keep its momentum rolling as Ivy League play
continues with a pair of road games at Penn and Princeton. Action
from the Palestra in Philadelphia will tip off on Friday at 7 p.m.,
while Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, N.J. hosts a 6 p.m. contest
with the Tigers on Saturday.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity
