Jan. 2, 2006

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NEW HAVEN, CONN. -- Yale returns home for its first contest of the 2006 calendar year, taking on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks of the Patriot League. The contest marks Yale's first home date since a Dec. 19 loss to Fairfield. After the Bulldogs and the Mountain Hawks tussle, Yale will stay in-state and travel to Hamden, Conn. to take on NEC foe Quinnipiac.

SERIES HISTORIES Yale leads the all-time series with Lehigh 9-8, with the last match up coming last season, a 70-66 Mountain Hawk victory. The last Yale win in the series came on Jan. 4, 1998 by the score of 53-50. Yale and Quinnipiac have hooked up 8 times, with the teams' splitting the series 4-4. Yale last win in that series came in the 99-00 season, a 76-69 win.

THE LAST TIME OUT Yale lost both games of the Marriott Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va. The Bulldogs lost the first game to the host Cavaliers 91-42 in the first round, before falling short to Boston University 53-41 in the consolation game.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS Lehigh starts the New Year with a pair of games against Ivy opponents. After taking on Yale on Monday, the Mountain Hawks head home to host Columbia. Sara Ellis leads three Hawks who are averaging double-figures in scoring, notching 16.5 a game. On her heels is Jenny Callan, who is averaging a double-double, netting 15.6 points and 11.9 rebounds. She has turned the trick in six consecutive games. The third member of the club is Adrienne Blount at 11.0 points per game. Lehigh has used the same five starters in each of their 10 games this season and are 4-6. Lehigh begins conference play in the Patriot League starting next week when they travel to play American.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS Quinnipiac is led by sophomore forward Monique Lee, who is second in the Northeast Conference in scoring, averaging an even 18 points despite missing a pair of games. Behind Lee both Brianna Rooney and Erin Kerner are averaging 9.8 points. Both serve as the Bobcats deep threats as Rooney has hit 15 three-balls and Kerner on 10. Quinnipiac has played one Ivy team this season, losing a 90-42 decision to Dartmouth in mid November.

UP NEXT After taking on Lehigh and Quinnipiac, Yale returns home for a date with Fordham, before opening the Ivy season hosting Brown. Yale and Fordham play on Jan. 10 and the Bulldogs entertain Brown on Jan. 14.

BUSY HOLIDAY SEASON COMING TO AN END The Bulldogs have been busy since classes have let out. Yale had a four-game road swing during the break that included a couple of long trips. The holiday break began with a trip to Delaware State and George Washington on Dec. 19 and 20. Just after Christmas Yale departed for yet another trip, taking part in the Marriott Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va. on Dec. 28 and 29.The New Year brings two more games to the slate before class is in session. Yale hosts Lehigh on Jan. 2 and travels to Quinnipiac on Jan 4.

HOME AN UNFAMALIAR PLACE Yale has played just two games at the John J. Lee Amphitheater this season, with the third coming against Lehigh. On the season Yale will play just 11 games at home out of 27 contests.

Chris Gobrecht, JOEL E. SMILOW, CLASS OF 1954 HEAD COACH OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Chris Gobrecht, a 25-year Division I coaching veteran and a two-time Pacific-10 Conference Coach of the Year, takes the reigns for her first season at Yale. Gobrecht is the ninth coach in the 31-year history of Yale women's basketball, and enters the Ivy League with more career victories than any other active coach in women's or men's basketball with 425.

LILLEMOE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Freshman guard Kaitlyn Lillemoe has been impressive through the first four games of her Bulldog career, and was named to the Coca-Cola St. Louis Billiken Classic All-Tournament team. During the two games she averaged 12.5 points, including a 16 point effort in the Bulldogs narrow loss to the Privateers. She was also clutch in the effort, hitting a key three pointer and picking up a block in the final minutes.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK Yale welcomes four fresh faces into the fold for 2005-06. Jenny Burke, Ashley Easley, Emily St. Jean and Jamie Van Horne will all look to contribute during their first seasons in the blue and white at either guard position. The four will bolster a backcourt corps that lost its top two scorers to graduation.

NOTHING BUT A BLOCK PARTY 2004-05 was another banner year for Bulldog swatters, as both Erica Davis and Julie Mantilla set new career highs in rejected shots. Davis sent 55 balls back at the shooter, breaking her own school record of 40. Mantilla bested her own personal record by two, returning 34 balls to sender.

EMMERLING SETS NEW CAREER HIGH For the second time in as many games junior Kaitlin Emmerling set a new career high in points. On the strength of 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc, Emmerling set a new career mark for points with 17 against Providence. Her previous mark came in the season opener against New Hampshire when she scored 13.

LILLEMOE IMPRESSIVE IN DEBUT Freshman guard Kaitlyn Lillemoe had an impressive Yale debut, scoring a team-high 19 points. On two occasions the freshman buried three-pointers as the shot clock expired as part of her .615 night. She finished 8-13 from the floor and 3-4 from three-point land. She chipped in with four rebounds and a pair of assists as well.

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES Yale welcomes back nearly 59% of its scoring from 2004-05, led by Erica Davis and Chinenye Okafor. The duo combined for 37% of the Bulldogs offense last season. On the glass Yale welcomes back nearly 70% of its rebounding, led again by Davis and Okafor, who accounted for 29% of the team's rebounds. The duo, have only played together in three games this season, the first not coming until Yale played at George Washington.

WELCOME BACK After not playing in 2004-05, senior Cassandra Harris has re-joined the team for the 05-06 campaign. In 2003-04 Harris played in every game, averaging 11.4 minutes, 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds. Her return makes her the lone senior on the squad.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN The Bulldogs will play only 11 home games in 2005-06, starting opening night when New Hampshire visits New Haven. The game is one of only three non-conference home games the Elis have. The Fairfield Stags play Yale on Dec. 3, and Lehigh comes to town on Jan. 2 rounding out the Bulldogs non-League home slate.

FREQUENT FLYER MILES Yale's non-League road trips this year range from as close as Hamden, Conn. (12 miles) to St. Louis, Mo. (1056 miles) and virtually every distance in between. Among their closer road trips, the Bulldogs travel to nutmeg state rivals Quinnipiac (Hamden.) and Sacred Heart (Fairfield). The longest trip of the season will knock two games off the schedule when Yale plays in the St. Louis Billiken Classic against hosts St. Louis and either Miami (Ohio) or New Orleans. The Bulldogs will also partake in the Virginia Cavalier Classic, taking on hosts Virginia and either Boston University or Holy Cross in December.

TALE OF THE TAPE Here is how Yale stacks up against Lehigh and Quinnipiac

YALE LEHIGH 49.1 Points per Game 64.2 .342 (177-518) Shooting Percentage .406 (226-557) .287 (37-129) 3-Pt Shooting Percentage .371 (52-140) .641 (100-156) Free Throw Percentage .708 (138-195) 32.1 Rebounds per Game 41.2 8.8 Assists per Game 15.8 21.5 Turnovers per Game 18.0 5.1 Steals per Game 6.6 2.3 Blocks per Game 1.3

YALE QUINNIPIAC 49.1 Points per Game 63.1 .342 (177-518) Shooting Percentage .367 (201-548) .287 (37-129) 3-Pt Shooting Percentage .295 (39-132) .641 (100-156) Free Throw Percentage .734 (127-173) 32.1 Rebounds per Game 37.0 8.8 Assists per Game 11.0 21.5 Turnovers per Game 17.8 5.1 Steals per Game 8.3 2.3 Blocks per Game 3.2

STARTING FIVE Yale has used six sets of starters this season in ten games. Here is a game-by-game look at the Bulldogs starting five. GAME STARTERS UNH Mariciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, Okafor, McCollum @Providence Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, St. Jean, McCollum @St. Louis Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, McCollum, Mantilla vs New Orleans Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, McCollum, Mantilla @Sacred Heart Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, McCollum, Mantilla Fairfield Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, McCollum, Mantilla @Delaware St. Marciano, Emmerling, Lillemoe, Okafor, McCollum @George Wash. Marciano, Lillemoe, Okafor, McCollum, Zoubek @Virginia Marciano, Lillemoe, Okafor, McCollum, Mantilla vs B.U. Marciano, Lillemoe, Okafor McCollum, Mantilla