Nov. 30, 2007

Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.--For the third time this season, the Yale women's basketball team took on a Top 30 opponent. The Bulldogs (0-5) played a more complete game against Marist than they did against Stanford and Arizona State, but the Red Foxes (7-1) wouldn't be denied in their home opener, posting a 77-62 victory in front of 1,814 fans at the McCann Center on Thursday night.

Yale got on the board first when Melissa Colborne drained a pair of free throws to open the game, but that would be the Bulldogs' only lead of the night. On Marist's first possession, Julianne Viani sank a layup and was fouled. She drained the free throw to give the Red Foxes a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Marist free throws were a common theme of the first half. The Bulldogs were whistled for 17 fouls in the opening 20 minutes and the Red Foxes attempted 17 free throws (making 12). Yale, meanwhile, went to the line just eight times (making six) in the period.

After a Colborne three-pointer made it 9-6 Marist 2:46 into the game, the Red Foxes went on a 19-8 run to open up a 28-14 lead with 8:51 to go in the half. The lead reached 17 points when Meg Dahlman's free throw put the Red Foxes in front 39-22 with 30 seconds remaining before halftime. Yoyo Greenfield ended the half with a pair of three-pointers, including one from about 30 feet out as time expired, to cut the lead to eleven, 39-28, at intermission.

Haywood Wright's jumper cut Marist's lead to nine early in the second half, but the Red Foxes responded with a 9-0 run to increase the advantage to 48-30 with 15:16 remaining. Yale wouldn't get within 10 again the rest of the night. The lead reached a game-high 22 points after Sarah Smrdel went on a personal nine-point roll, then Nikki Flores sank a pair of layups to put the Red Foxes in front 64-42 with 8:38 left in the game. Yale chipped away, but was able to pull no closer than 13, 75-62 with 1:03 to go. A pair of Viani free throws rounded out the scoring, as the Red Foxes posted their seventh straight win, 77-62.

"This is the first time all season that we've played with commitment on both ends of the floor," Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Chris Gobrecht said. "We just didn't shoot as well as we're capable. When those shots start to fall, we'll be alright. We're on the right track."

Greenfield tallied a career-high 16 points, including four treys, to pace the Bulldogs. Colborne was the only other Bulldog to reach double figures, posting 15 points before fouling out. Stephanie Marciano and Wright each registered eight points, and Wright added six rebounds. Lindsey Williams grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and Mady Gobrecht tied a career-high with eight boards as Yale outrebounded Marist 44-41. The Bulldogs shot 29.7 percent (19-of-64) from the field and 27.8 percent (10-of-36) from behind the arc. Yale went 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line.

Flores led four Red Foxes in double figures with 18 points. She added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Viani tallied 15 points and Smrdel added 13. Rachele Fitz, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while posting two blocks and two steals. Marist turned the ball over just 13 times and shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field. The Red Foxes shot 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from three-point land and 72.7 percent (24-of-33) at the charity stripe. Marist outscored the Bulldogs 32-16 in the paint and scored 25 points off 18 Yale turnovers.

The Bulldogs have eight days off until their next game. The team finally returns to the John J. Lee Amphitheater on Friday, Dec. 7 for a 7 p.m. tilt with Stony Brook. All fans who bring a new, unwrapped toy to the game will receive two free general admission tickets as a part of the Yale Athletics Toys for Tots Weekend.

NOTES: The 36 three-point attempts set a new school record for treys attempted in a game, breaking the old mark of 32 set against Brown on Jan. 4, 1995 and tied against Stanford on Nov. 9, 2007...Yale used its second different starting lineup this season, with Wright making her first career start in place of an injured Sara McCollum...Colborne scored Yale's first six points...This was Yale's first loss in three all-time games against Marist...The Bulldogs tallied a 15-point win, 67-52, when the teams met in New Haven last season.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity