Dec. 26, 2005

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THE MATCHUP Yale is taking part in its second in-season tournament of the 2005-06 campaign when they travel to Charlottesville to participate in the Marriott Cavalier Classic. The Bulldogs take on hosts Virginia on Wednesday, then either Boston College or Holy Cross on Thursday. The Bulldogs are still winless on the season, and looking to turn things around in the short span before the Ivy season begins.

SERIES HISTORIES Yale has never met Virginia, but has played Boston University nine times and Holy Cross seven. The Terriers hold a commanding 8-1 lifetime record against the Bulldogs, with the last meeting coming in 2001, a 76-67 win for B.U. Holy Cross also holds a series lead with Yale, but a slim one. The Crusaders are 4-3 against Yale, with the Elis prevailing in the last match up 64-51 in the 93-94 season.

THE LAST TIME OUT The Geroge Washington Colonials hit 11 of their first 12 shots and never looked back, en route to a 88-37 win over the Bulldogs.

SCOUTING THECAVALIERS Virvinia enters the tournament at 7-1 on the season as they start a four-game homestand. The Cavaliers have a balanced offense, as six players are averaging at least eight points per game and nine at least 20 minutes per contest. Siedah Williams is the only Cavalier to average double-digit points, with a team best 11.5 average. Two players (Takisha Granberry and Lyandra Littles) check in a 9.8 per game, followed by Tiffany Sardin (9.3), Sharnee Zoll (8.9) and Brenna McGuire (8.0). That quintet is joined by Denesha Kenion in seeing over 20 minutes per game. Virginia is coached by Debbie Ryan, who is in her 29th season with the team and holds a career 619-252 career mark.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS The Terriers are led offensively by Katie Meinhardt, who is averaging 11.9 points on an even 40% shooting from the field despite missing two games. She is followed closely by Cheri Raffo, who is just fractions of a point behind her with an 11.6 scoring average. Kasey Devine leads the team in rebounding, pulling them down at an 8.3 per game rate. Boston University is coached by Kelly Greenberg in her second season with the Terriers after spending five season in the Ivy League with Penn, leading the quakers to two Ivy championships.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS Junior Kaitlin Foley leads the Crusader attack, averaging nearly 16 points and seven rebounds a game from her center position. She is hitting nearly 55% of the field goals she takes and is efficient at the charity stripe, hitting at 78.4%. Shannon Bush is the only other Crusader to average double digits, potting 11.4 per game. Bill Gibbons coaches the Crusaders and is in his 21st season with Holy Cross. He holds a career 416-189 record, all with Holy Cross.

UP NEXT The Bulldogs don't wait long to get the 2006 portion of the schedule underway, as they host Lehigh on Jan. 2. The first month of the calendar year will be a busy one for Yale, as they play eight games in the frame and start the Ivy season. Apart from hosting Leghigh, Yale travels to Quinnipiac, Brown, Harvard and Dartmouth, while entertaining Fordham and Brown.

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 one game this season, 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 Virginia...

YALE DELAWARE ST. 51.1 Points per Game 64.9 .348 (147-122) Shooting Percentage .426 (198-465) .304 (34-112) 3-Pt Shooting Percentage .291 (32-110) .648 (81-125) Free Throw Percentage .695 (91-131) 31.1 Rebounds per Game 37.6 9.5 Assists per Game 13.9 19.4 Turnovers per Game 14.5 5.1 Steals per Game 11.8 2.3 Blocks per Game 2.1

STARTING FIVE Yale has used five sets of starters this season in eight 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