Feb. 27, 2008

Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) at Penn (4-20, 1-8 Ivy)
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008-7 p.m.
Philadelphia, Pa.-The Palestra

Webcast: www.pennathletics.com
Radio/Internet:WYBC-AM 1340 (Xander Dominitz); www.pennathletics.com (Ted Rawlings and Chris Zervoudis)

Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) at Princeton (5-20, 2-7 Ivy)
Saturday, March 1, 2008-6 p.m.
Princeton, N.J.-Jadwin Gym

Webcast: www.goprincetontigers.com
Radio/Internet: WYBC-AM 1340, www.yalebulldogs.com (Xander Dominitz); www.goprincetontigers.com (Derek Jones)

TONIGHT'S GAME
Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) hits the road for the final time this season with a visit to Penn (4-20, 1-8 Ivy) and Princeton (5-20, 2-7 Ivy) this weekend. The Bulldogs defeated Columbia 76-59 last Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak. The Quakers and Tigers were each swept at home by Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend. Friday's game marks just the second time in program history that Yale is playing on "Leap Day." In 1992, the Bulldogs beat Penn 71-64 at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. Princeton, which hosts Brown on Friday night, plays its final home game of the season against the Bulldogs on Saturday. Yale beat Princeton, 78-57, and lost to Penn, 75-67, two weeks ago in New Haven.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs have lost four straight against the Quakers and won the last two against the Tigers. Yale's last win over Penn was a come-from-behind 53-52 victory in New Haven on Feb. 4, 2006. The Bulldogs haven't won in The Palestra since a 74-64 overtime triumph on Feb. 19, 2005. Penn leads the all-time series 34-29. The Yale-Princeton series dates back to 1973-74, the first year of women's basketball at Yale. Princeton is the most common opponent in Yale history. This is the 67th meeting, and the Tigers lead the series 38-28. Yale has won two straight against Princeton, but both wins came at home. The Bulldogs have lost five straight at Jadwin Gym since an 85-80 overtime victory on Feb. 9, 2002.

LAST TIME OUT
Yale snapped a two-game losing streak with a dominating 76-59 victory over Columbia. The Bulldogs led wire-to-wire and shot a season-high .517 from the field. Yale opened the game on an 11-2 run and led 37-24 at halftime before increasing the lead to as many as 19 points in the second half. Melissa Colborne tallied 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, dished out a career-high six assists and tied a career-high with three blocks. Haywood Wright notched career-highs with five blocks and three steals.
On Friday night against Cornell, the first-place Big Red shot .577 from the field in the first half to take a 38-27 lead at intermission. Cornell built a 51-31 lead with 15 minutes left before the Bulldogs rallied to cut the deficit to two, 60-58. Cornell hit a deep, shot clock-beating three-pointer to run its lead back to five, then made enough free throws down the stretch to seal a 74-64 victory. Colborne had 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting and four assists.

BULLDOG BONES
With four games left on the schedule, Yale (7-16, 5-5 Ivy) has already equaled its Ivy League win total from last season. The Bulldogs conclude the 2007-08 campaign with a pair of home games next weekend. Sophomore guard/forward Melissa Colborne is the reigining Ivy League Co-Player of the Week. She averaged 21 points and shot .727 from the field in last weekend's split with Cornell and Columbia. Colborne ranks second in the Ivy League in scoring (15.7 ppg) and leads the league with 16.3 points in conference games. She also ranks third in the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.470) and fifth in free throw percentage (.737). Junior guard Jamie Van Horne is second on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg) and leads the Ivy League with 2.39 three-pointers per game. Freshman Lindsey Williams leads the team in rebounding (6.5 rpg). Senior guard Stephanie Marciano, the team captain, played in her 100th career game last Saturday. She dishes out 3.24 assists per game, which ranks fifth in the Ivy League. Sophomore forward Haywood Wright had a career-high five blocks against Columbia and leads the league with 1.57 blocks per game.

QUAKER QUIPS
The Quakers (4-20, 1-8 Ivy) snapped a 15-game losing streak with their 75-67 victory over the Bulldogs in New Haven. Penn has lost 17 of its last 18 games. Freshman guard Kim Adams is the current Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week. She had 13 points against Dartmouth and 12 against Harvard last weekend. Adams is third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game. Junior forward Carrie Biemer is the only Quaker averaging in double-figures with 12.9 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Ivy League. Biemer is sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.433) and three-pointers per game (1.5). Sophomore guard Sarah Bucar, who had a double-double in the win at Yale, leads the Quakers in rebounding (4.6 rpg) and assists (3.1 apg). Junior forward Maggie Burgess pulls down 4.5 rebounds a contest, while junior forward Katarina Lackner ranks third in the Ivy League with 1.0 blocks per game. Junior guard Anca Popovici has started all 24 games this season for Penn.

TIGER TALES
Princeton (5-20, 2-7 Ivy) received a first-place vote in the Ivy League preseason poll, but sat in sixth place entering the weekend. The Tigers had lost 14 of 16 before hosting Brown on Friday night. Princeton's only victories during that span were conference wins over Penn and Brown. Senior forward Meagan Cowher, who is playing in her final home game for Princeton on Saturday, is on track for her third straight First Team All-Ivy selection. Cowher leads the league in scoring (17.0 ppg) and ranks third in rebounding (7.5 rpg). She is also fourth in the Ivy League in field goal percentage (.452). Cowher leads Princeton in assists (47, 1.9 apg) and ranks second on the team in steals (28, 1.1 spg). Junior guard Jessica Berry is averaging 7.1 and 2.4 assists in 11 games since returning to the lineup. Princeton assistant coach Milena Flores was an assitant at Yale from 2005-07.

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