Dec. 16, 2005

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NEW HAVEN, CONN -- Following an extended 16 day break from game action, the women's basketball team returns to the court Monday night at Delaware State. The game is the first of a four game trip that continues the next day in Washington D.C. at George Washington followed by a pair of games after the holiday at the Virginia Cavalier Classic.

THE MATCHUP The Bulldogs are still trolling for their first win of the season, and the first win of the Yale career of Chris Gobrecht. They have made strides in recent games, and look to break into the win column on Monday against Delaware State. After the Bulldogs wrestle with the Hornets, they continue the road swing with a date against George Washington in the nation's capitol as part of a four-game road swing.

SERIES HISTORIES Yale and Delaware State have met only once, a 46-45 Bulldog victory last season in New Haven. The Bulldogs and Colonials have met five times, with George Washington holding a 3-2 series advantage. The last meeting came a season ago with George Washington winning 90-50 at home.

THE LAST TIME OUT Yale fell to the Fairfield Stags 70-61 at Lee Amphitheater. Sara McCollum had 13 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough to quell the Stags, who took an 11 point first half lead and kept the buffer for the duration. SCOUTING THE HORNETS Delaware State is coached by Ed Davis who is in his sixth season with the Hornets and his 13th overall. He has a career record of 251-120 and is 86-66 at Delaware State. His main offensive weapon this season has been Raquel Collier, who has led the team in scoring in four of the team's six contests. She is averaging 12.8 points on 47% shooting from the field including a 57% success rate from beyond the arc. The Hornet's second scoring option this season has been Ashlee Burbage, averaging 9 points. Her 16 assists lead the team as do her 21 steals.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS The Colonials enter the weekend 4-3 on the season under the direction of head coach Joe McKeown. McKeown is in his 17th season at George Washington and 19th overall. He has a career winning percentage over .700 with a 435-157 record. Three of his players currently average better than 10 points per game, led by point guard Kimberly Beck with 12.0. She is hitting at a .467 clip from the field and .419 from downtown. She also has a team high 40 assists. On her heels is Sarah-Jo Lawrence, who is averaging 11.3 points on .492 shooting. Jessica Simmonds is the third player averaging double figures, with 10.1 points. She also leads the team with 10 blocks. The Colonials took on the Maine Black Bears on Saturday.

CAREER HIGHS Setting a new career high has become a nightly event for the Bulldogs. Kaitlin Emmerling has already set (13 points against New Hampshire) and re-set (19 points at Providence) her career high in points. She also set a new high in minutes played, with 37 against the Wildcats to open the season. Stephanie Marciano has also been active, accumulating a personal best 12 assists against New Orleans. The 12 helpers was only two shy of Anne Peacock's school record of 14 set in 1986. She then went on to set a new career high in points, dropping in 9 against Fairfield on Dec. 3. Her previous high was five.

UP NEXT After the early week set with Delaware State and George Washington, Yale returns home for the holidays. The break will be short as Yale heads to the Virginia Cavalier Classic on Dec. 28. The Bulldogs take on hosts Virginia in the opener, and will take on either Boston College or Holy Cross in the second game.

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, however, have accounted for only 8% of Yale's minutes this season.

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.