Jan. 20, 2006

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THE MATCHUP

Yale and Brown wrap-up their season series in the back end of a home-and-home set. The Bears took the opener in New Haven, 51-47, and the Bulldogs look to return the favor on Friday night in Providence. The game is the first of a three-game road swing for the Bulldogs, who don't return home until a Feb. 3 date with Princeton.

SERIES HISTORY

Yale and Brown have met 61 times in their respective histories, with the Bears holding a 39-22 series lead. Brown swept the season series last year with a 65-38 win in New Haven and a 72-56 win in Providence. Overall Brown has won eight consecutive dating back to a 79-60 Yale win on Jan. 19, 2002.

THE LAST TIME OUT

Yale made a furious second-half comeback, but was unable to complete the rally as Brown, who led by as many as 12, hung on for a 51-47 victory. Junior captain Chinenye Okafor had her best game of the season, leading the Bulldogs with 17 points. Sophomore Sara McCollum picked up her second double-double of the campaign with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Brown's Colleen Kelly led all players with 18 points while her backcourt partner Sarah Hayes was limited to just 18 minutes of play due to early foul trouble. She finished the night with six points and fouled out with just over six minutes left.

SCOUTING THE BEARS

Brown enters Friday's contest looking for its fourth win in its last five contests and its second consecutive over Yale. The Bears are led by the senior backcourt duo of Sarah Hayes and Colleen Kelly. Hayes, the team's leading scorer (14.7 ppg.), was held to a season-low six points and fouled out in the first meeting. Kelly thrived in her abscence, scoring a game-high 18 points and grabbing six rebounds to lead the Bears. She was an efficient 11 of 15 from the free throw line to make up for a 3 for 13 shooting night.

UP NEXT

Yale continues a three-game road trip next weekend with dates at Harvard and Dartmouth. The Bulldogs face the Crimson on Jan. 27 and the Big Green on Jan. 28.

OKAFOR RETURNING TO FORM

After battling some early season struggles, junior captain Chinenye Okafor has returned to form to average 13.0 points over her last four contests, including a 17-point effort against Brown her last time out. She was averaging just 6.9 points over the team's first ten games. She has also stepped up her rebounding performance, pulling down 6.0 boards over the stretch, compared to just 3.9 during the first 10 games. She has now reached double-figures in scoring in three of her last four outings.

McCOLLUM DOUBLES DOWN

Sophomore Sara McCollum recorded her second double-double of the season on Jan. 14 against Brown. McCollum dropped in 14 points and pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds to accomplish the feat. Her previous double-dip came on Jan. 2 against Lehigh where she had 10 points and 12 rebounds. For the season she is averaging 9.1 points and ranks seventh in the conference with 7.1 rebounds. She also ranks seventh in free throw percentage, hitting at a .737 clip.

APPROACHING THE CENTURY MARK

Junior Erica Davis is one rejection away from 100 blocks for her career. She already holds the school career (99) and single season (55 in `04-05) records. Frontcourt mate Julie Mantilla also has the 100 block mark on her radar screen. She has 85 career blocks, including a team-best 19 this season.

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 reins 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.

COMMON OPPONENTS

Yale and Brown share three common opponents in Fairfield, Lehigh and Boston University. Yale defeated Lehigh (66-61) while falling to both Fairfield (70-61) and B.U. (53-41) while Brown defeated Fairfield (72-62) and lost to Lehigh (77-69) and B.U. (73-59).

NOTHING BUT A BLOCK PARTY

Julie Mantilla tied a school record with five blocked shots at Quinnipiac on Jan. 4. It is the third time in her career she has swatted five shots, and the second time against Quinnipiac. Teammate Erica Davis also shares the record, accomplishing the feat twice. Sarah Jacobson `93 and Megan Connick `81 also hold a piece of the record. For the season Mantilla is second in the Ivy League, averaging 1.31 blocks per game.

GOBRECHT PICKS UP FIRST YALE WIN

With a 66-61 win over Lehigh, Chris Gobrecht picked up her first career victory at Yale, snapping a ten-game losing streak by the Bulldogs.

LILLEMOE NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Freshman guard Kaitlyn Lillemoe has been impressive through the first 14 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. She 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 four rebounds and a pair of assists as well.

EMMERLING SETS NEW CAREER HIGH

Junior Kaitlin Emmerling set a new career high in points twice this season. On the strength of 4-5 shooting from beyond the arc, Emmerling set a new career mark with 17 against Providence on Nov. 21. Her previous mark came in the season opener against New Hampshire when she scored 13.

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.

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 ranged 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 traveled to nutmeg state rivals Quinnipiac (Hamden) and Sacred Heart (Fairfield). The longest trip of the season knocked two games off the schedule when Yale played in the St. Louis Billiken Classic against host St. Louis and New Orleans. The Bulldogs also participated in the Virginia Cavalier Classic, taking on host Virginia and Boston University in December.