Pioneers Defeat Bulldogs, 74-51
Dec. 1, 2005
FAIRFIELD, CONN. - Sacred Heart senior guard Nicolle Rubino poured in 10 first-half points, including the 1,000th of her career, as part of a 15 point night to lead Sacred Heart to a 74-51 win over Yale on Thursday night. Freshman Kaitlyn Lillemoe (Minnetonka, Minn.) led Yale with 15 points of her own, but it wasn't enough to overcome 25 turnovers and 37.5% shooting from the field.
Yale stayed in it during the early going, pulling in front 6-4 three minutes in on two of Sara McCollum's (Old Lyme, Conn.) 12 points. The Pioneers quickly tied it at 6-6 and then jumped out in front for good, running out to a seven point lead at 17-10 thanks to their full court pressure. The Bulldogs cut it to 17-14 just under 13 minutes but an 18-5 run over the next eight minutes put the game out of reach and SHU led 45-27 at the break.
The second half saw the Pioneers lead balloon to 23 points just three minutes in as junior Amanda Pape converted a lay-up and four free throws on her way to a game-high 17 points. SHU's largest lead was 25 points, 62-37, with just over 10 minutes to go.
Sacred Heart would continue their suffocating defense in the second half, holding Yale to just 25.9% (7-27) shooting in the second half. Yale turned the ball over 25 times in the game, leading to 32 Pioneer points.
Yale, now 0-5, returns to action on Saturday, when they host Faifrield, while Sacred Heart starts their conference schedule when they host St. Francis (NY) on Wednesday.
Report Filed by Hank Gargiulo, Yale Sports Publicity
