Dec. 22, 2007

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HAMDEN, Conn.--Twenty-five points by Erin Kerner and a 56 percent (28-of-50) shooting effort were too much for the Yale women's basketball team (2-6) to overcome Saturday afternoon against Quinnipiac, as the Bobcats (8-1) posted a 70-60 victory at the TD Banknorth Sports Center. Kerner went 11-for-14 from the field and added three assists in leading the Bobcats to their seventh straight win. Melissa Colborne had 21 points and four rebounds for Yale.

Quinnipiac took control of the game early. The Bobcats scored the first six points of the game, as Yale missed 15 of its first 16 shots and went six minutes between baskets. After a Lindsey Williams layup cut Quinnipiac's lead to 14-5, the Bulldogs went on another scoring drought of nearly four minutes. The Bobcats built a 25-10 advantage before Yoyo Greenfield's three-pointer cut the lead to 12 with 4:11 remaining in the half. Quinnipiac led 36-21 before Jamie Van Horne's trey as the half expired cut Yale's deficit to 12 at intermission. The Bulldogs shot just 26.5 percent (9-of-34) in the first half, while the Bobcats shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26). Kerner had 14 first-half points on 6-for-7 shooting for Quinnipiac.

"They were a little more ready to play than we were at this time of the year," Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Chris Gobrecht said.

Yale scored the first five points of the second half to make it 38-29 and got within eight when Van Horne's three-pointer cut the Bobcats' advantage to 43-35 with 16:11 left. Quinnipiac responded with an 11-0 run to bring the lead to a game-high 19 points at the 11:01 mark. The Bulldogs chipped away again, cutting a 64-46 deficit to 68-60 with 37 seconds remaining, but Yale simply ran out of time. Brianna Rooney's layup secured the final 10-point margin for Quinnipiac.

Van Horne tallied 15 points on five three-pointers, four in the second half. Mady Gobrecht returned to the starting lineup and set a new career-high with 10 points. She also tied career-bests with eight rebounds and four assists. Stephanie Marciano had three points and five rebounds to go along with a game-high seven assists. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 35 percent (21-of-60) from the field and 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from three-point land. After missing just two free throws against Hofstra on Dec. 11, the Bulldogs shot 73.3 percent (11-of-15) from the line.

Mandy Pennewell tallied 15 points for Quinnipiac, and Monique Lee and Kathleen Neyes each added 11. Kerner and Brianna Rooney each distributed three assists. Nicole Duperron pulled down a game-high nine rebounds off the bench for the Bobcats, who outrebounded the Bulldogs 35-30. Quinnipiac shot 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from behind the arc and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs now have eight days off for Christmas before returning to action at South Florida on Dec. 30. The Bulls are 9-2 and have won seven straight games. Tip-off at the Sun Dome is slated for 2 p.m.

NOTES: Yale assistant coach Queen Smith played at Quinnipiac from 1992-96 as is second on the Bobcats' all-time list in both steals (394) and assists (476)...Yale assistant Dianne Nolan coached Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri at Fairfield from 1987-91...This marked the first time Yale played at the TD Banknorth Sports Center, which opened in January...Yale used its fourth different starting lineup this season, with Mady Gobrecht replacing Haywood Wright...Colborne has scored 20 or more points in three of the last six games...Kerner's 25 points were the second most by a Yale opponent this season; Lauren Shaughnessy of Saint Mary's scored 26 points on Nov. 23...Quinnipiac now leads the all-time series 7-5.

Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity