NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Chris Gobrecht,
Yale’s Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of
Women’s Basketball, often refers to a style of play known as
“Bulldog Basketball”. Fans in attendance at the John J.
Lee Amphitheater on Friday night got a textbook definition of
“Bulldog Basketball”, as Yale turned in its most
complete effort of the season en route to defeating visiting Ivy
League foe Cornell by a score of 74-50. The Bulldogs made their
first 10 shots from the floor, propelling themselves to 40 points
prior to the intermission, then came out of the locker room and
held Big Red to just 18.5% shooting in the second half. Sophomore
Michelle Cashen recorded a double-double for the Bulldogs, while
junior Mady Gobrecht led the 11 Yale players who put tallies on the
board with a team-best 13 points.
“We played excellent team offense and team defense
tonight,” said Coach Gobrecht. “Everything we have
worked on and shown flashes of all season came together
tonight.”
Yale, which never trailed against Cornell, improves to 8-11
overall and 3-2 in the Ivy League. Winner of three of their last
four games overall as well as three of their last four in New
Haven, the Bulldogs have surrendered 60 points or fewer in all
eight of their victories in 2009-10 campaign. Cornell, now losers
of 10 straight games, falls to 5-13 on the season and remains
winless at 0-5 in Ancient Eight play. Big Red had won the last five
meetings between the two programs, including two straight in the
Elm City.
Gobrecht’s 13 points came on a 5-for-7 shooting day, as the
Bulldogs shot 46.3% (25-54) from the floor, 33.3% (5-15) from
three-point range and 73.1% (19-26) from the free throw line.
Cashen’s double-double was comprised of 10 points and 10
rebounds, including five off of the offensive glass, to lead a
dominant Yale performance on the boards. The Bulldogs outrebounded
Big Red, 44-31, and turned 18 offensive boards into 20
second-chance points. Senior Melissa Colborne also tallied double
figures, netting 11 points to go along with seven rebounds and five
assists.
Senior Haywood Wright, junior Yoyo Greenfield and freshman Megan
Vasquez each scored eight points in the game, while senior captain
Ashley Carter notched five. Freshmen Allie Messimer and Alicia
Seelaus each scored four points, while fellow rookie Ericka von
Kaeppler had two. Sophomore Verena Lehner made her first career
appearance and drained one of two free throws to round out the Yale
scoring effort.
Defensively, each team forced 19 turnovers, though Yale converted
the Big Red miscues into 24 points as compared to 16 Cornell points
after turning the Bulldogs over. Yale also turned back seven shots,
led by two apiece from Cashen and Wright, while Big Red blocked a
pair of Bulldogs’ offerings.
Cornell was led offensively by 20 points from Allie Fedorowicz and
10 points from Clare Fitzpatrick. Virginia McMunigal and Lauren
Benson, two Big Red players among the Ivy League’s top 20
scorers, combined for just three points against the stingy Yale
defense, with Benson being held scoreless. Big Red shot 29.3%
(17-58) from the field, 46.2% (6-13) from three-point range and
76.9% (10-13) from the free throw line.
Yale came racing out of the gates, as Cashen and Gobrecht each
notched points down low in the first minute to give the Bulldogs a
4-0 lead. Those layups started a hot streak for the Bulldogs’
offense, as Yale hit its first 10 shots, with the first miss coming
on a half-court heave with the shot clock winding down. In total,
it took nearly 11 minutes for Yale to miss a field goal other than
the desperate shot, as the Bulldogs shot 91.7% (11-12) in the early
stages of the first half to hold a 28-17 lead with 9:09 remaining.
The law of averages caught up with Yale for a while after the hot
start, but a three-pointer from Wright ended a streak of four
missed shots and staked the Bulldogs with a 12-point edge at 31-19.
The action leveled off over the final five minutes of the opening
period, as the teams traded points to send Yale into the locker
room with an 11-point advantage, 40-29.
The 40 points scored by the Bulldogs marked the most that the team
had scored in a half since dropping 40 in the second half against
Brown on Jan. 22. Yale hadn’t scored 40 points over the first
20 minutes of a contest since the Nov. 28 game with North Carolina
A&T. Yale shot a scorching 61.5% (16-26) in the frame,
complimented by a 55.6% (5-9) performance from beyond the arc and a
75% (3-4) half at the free throw line. Gobrecht netted 10 of her
eventual 13 points prior to halftime. Fedorwicz had 16 of Big
Red’s 29 first-half points, as the visitors shot 38.7%
(12-31) from the floor, 66.7% (4-6) from beyond the three-point arc
and sunk their lone free throw attempt.
After Cornell netted the first points of the second half, Yale
reeled off an 11-0 spurt to grab a 20-point advantage at 51-31. It
would be nearly seven minutes before Big Red got on the board
again, and the Bulldogs once again answered that lone bucket with
an extended run. The 7-0 stretch, which was highlighted by four
points from Colborne, put the game firmly out of reach with Yale
leading by 25 points, 58-33, with 9:19 remaining in the contest.
Yale would lead by as many as 27 points, and the cushion never
slipped below 22, en route to sealing a convincing 74-50
victory.
Despite her team’s stellar performance, Coach Gobrecht kept
the win in its proper perspective. “Of course, since this is
the Ivy League, we have to be ready for a different team with a
completely different style tomorrow.”
The Bulldogs will host the Lions from Columbia on Saturday
evening. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with Youth Day festivities
beginning at 4:30 p.m. Columbia rallied from a late deficit to take
a 65-60 win at Brown this evening, improving to 13-6 overall and
4-1 in the Ivy League.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity
