Feb. 23, 2006

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THE MATCHUP
The Bulldogs enter the weekend looking to rebound from a pair of tough losses last weekend when they finish up a season-long four-game home stand with Cornell and Columbia coming to New Haven. The Big Red come to town after a road split with Penn and Princeton, while Columbia was swept by the Quakers and Tigers.

SERIES HISTORIES
Yale holds a large series edge over Cornell, 37-17, but lost the first meeting this season in Ithaca. The Bulldogs had won three consecutive against the Big Red prior to this season by an average margin of 22 points. Yale's last win over Cornell in Lee Amphitheater came Feb. 5, 2005 by the score of 68-49.

The Bulldogs hold a commanding 30-9 all-time series lead over Columbia despite losing three in a row. The last Yale win in the series came in the final game of the 2003-04 season on March 6, 2004, a 56-50 decision in New Haven. Yale has never lost consecutive home games to Columbia.

THE LAST TIME OUT
Yale fell short against Dartmouth and Harvard in Lee Amphitheater last weekend. The Big Green topped the Bulldogs 64-51 and the Crimson won 59-54. Chinenye Okafor had another strong weekend, reaching double-figures in scoring both nights. She dropped 12 on Friday and tied a career-high with 19 on Saturday. She also had 10 steals and four assists over the weekend. Erica Davis posted her second double-double in her last four games with an 11-point, 11-rebound performance against Harvard. It was also the third time in the last four games she has reached double-figures in rebounds.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED
The Big Red enter the weekend 5-5 in Ivy play and 8-15 overall. They are coming off a weekend split with Penn and Princeton. Cornell fell to the Tigers 76-63 before downing the Quakers 56-54. Reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Week Jeomi Maduka leads Cornell in both scoring (14.9 ppg.) and rebounding (7.8 rpg.). She ranks second in the conference in both categories. She also ranks third in field goal percentage (.473) and seventh in steals (1.73) and blocks (0.64). Cornell's second leading scorer, Claire Perry (12.2 ppg.), has not played since Feb. 4 at Harvard.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
The Lions, who play at Brown on Friday, enter the weekend 1-9 in conference play and 5-18 overall. Junior guard Megan Griffith leads the Columbia attack, averaging 14.7 points and 5.26 assists per game. She has started all 23 games for Columbia and ranks fifth in the Ivy League in scoring and second in assists. The Lions also sport the league's leading shot blocker in Sara Beato. She has 80 swats in 23 games (3.46 bpg.) to double her closest competitor.

UP NEXT
Yale closes out the 2005-06 season with a road trip to Penn and Princeton starting on Friday, March 3. The Bulldogs will the Tigers at the Palestra on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before tussling with the Quakers on Saturday, also at 7:00 p.m.

COMEBACK KIDS
Yale's 20-point rally against Penn on Feb. 4 was its largest come from behind victory since erasing a 16-point deficit against Morgan State on Dec. 20, 2004. The Bulldogs won that game 79-70.

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.

WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB
Junior Julie Mantilla joined teammate Erica Davis as the only players in school history to accumulate 100 blocks for their careers. Mantilla picked up her 100th on Feb. 18 against Harvard. Davis reached the century mark earlier on this season against Brown. She is the school's all time leader in blocks (114) with Mantilla right behind her (100).

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Three Bulldogs have recorded a double-doubles this season, and all three have done it twice, including a stretch of three in the last four games. Erica Davis, Chinenye Okafor and Sara McCollum have all posted double-dips, with Davis putting up the most recent. She had 11 points and 11 rebounds in Yale's game agasinst Harvard on Feb. 18.

OKAFOR STAYS HOT
It has been a tale of two seasons for junior captain Chinenye Okafor. After averaging a slim 6.9 points over her first seven games, Okafor has turned things around in her last 13 to average 11.1 points. Her rebounding also took a dramatic up-turn, going from 3.9 rpg. over the first seven games to 6.2 over the last nine. For the season she is averaging 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. She tied a career-high with 19 points against Harvard on Feb. 18.

COMMON OPPONENTS
Yale and Cornell share just one common non-conference opponent, New Hampshire. Neither squad could tame the Wildcats as UNH won both contests. Yale and Columbia share three common opponents, Delaware State, Lehigh and Sacred Heart. The Bulldogs topped the Mountain Hawks for the only win by either squad.

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 third in the Ivy League, averaging 1.33 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.

VAN HORNE NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
On Jan. 30, freshman guard Jamie Van Horne was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week. Van Horne averaged 13 points, including tying her career-high of 17, to earn the honors. It was the first time this season a Bulldog earned conference honors.

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.

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.