Four Net Double Figures to Push Yale Past Boston University, 61-57
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Mady Gobrecht
scored a career-high 18 points to lead four players in double
figures as the Yale women’s basketball team defeated visiting
Boston University on Wednesday evening by a score of 61-57. The
Bulldogs’ defense has now held its opponent to 60 points or
fewer in all four of Yale’s win this season.
With the victory, the Bulldogs improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 at
the John J. Lee Amphitheater in New Haven. The Terriers from Boston
University fall to 3-5 in defeat.
“I wish we would win pretty every once in a while, but
winning ugly is working”, said Chris Gobrecht, the Joel E.
Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women’s Basketball at
Yale. The Bulldogs have now trailed in the second half in three of
their four victories.
“Our defense is playing great basketball, and it’s
exciting to see that things are starting to click on the offensive
end”, said Gobrecht. “I just wish we could play the
first 36 minutes of the game as well as we play in the last
four”.
Mady Gobrecht added eight rebounds to her career-high scoring
output, as she shared the game best in points with BU’s Mo
Moran. Freshman Megan Vasquez netted 13 points for Yale, junior
Yoyo Greenfield had 12 and senior Melissa Colborne was the fourth
Bulldog in double-figures with 10 points. Sophomore Michelle Cashen
scored five points and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds, and
freshman Allie Messimer drained a trey to round out the Yale
offensive attack.
Senior captain Ashley Carter continued to lead by example, hauling
in seven rebounds (four offensive) and racking up two steals while
locking down the Terriers’ primary ball-handlers for much of
the contest.
“Carter has been huge for us”, said Gobrecht.
“Her work on the offensive glass kept us alive in the first
half”.
Moran complimented her 18 points with seven rebounds, sharing the
BU team-high with Caroline Stewart.
The two teams stayed within one possession of each other for most
of the first half, before a Cashen free throw at the 10:13 mark
gave Yale a four-point cushion at 13-9. The Terriers responded
immediately with a five-point spurt to take their first lead of the
game at 14-13, but the Bulldogs shot back a 7-0 run, led by five
points from Gobrecht, to claim a six-point lead at 20-14. BU would
chisel the lead down to two points prior to the intermission, but a
Messimer three-pointer on Yale’s final possession of the
first half gave the Bulldogs a 27-22 lead entering halftime.
Gobrecht led all players with nine points in the first half, while
Carter hauled in a half-high seven boards. Yale shot just 6-for-24
(25%) from the field in the stanza, but the Bulldogs’
aggressive play led to a 13-for-18 (72.2%) mark from the foul line.
The Terriers shot 8-for-29 (27.6%) from the floor and 6-for-7
(85.7%) from the charity stripe.
BU came out firing in the second half, netting the first six
points of the frame to take a 28-27 lead. Scoring went
back-and-forth from that point forward to a 37-37 deadlock with
9:34 left in the contest. The Terriers tallied the next four points
out of the stalemate and eventually ran their lead to seven points
at 48-41. Yale hung tough over the ensuing two minutes, but time
seemed to be running out as the Bulldogs trailed by six points,
55-49, with just 2:55 on the clock. However, after a BU timeout,
Greenfield promptly drained a three-pointer and, after an empty
trip for the Terriers, Colborne hit a pair of free throws to cut
the deficit to one point, 55-54. Colborne then swatted a BU
three-point attempt and collected the rebound, eventually drawing a
foul on the offensive end and knocking down a free throw to tie the
score at 55-55 with 60 seconds left. Colborne missed her second
attempt from the line, but Cashen collected the offensive rebound
to keep the ball on the Bulldogs’ end of the court. After the
Terriers knocked a ball out of bounds, a perfectly executed
inbounds play saw Vasquez hit Greenfield for a layup to give Yale a
two point lead, 57-55. Another blocked shot, this one by Vasquez,
gave possession back to the Bulldogs, and the Terriers stopped the
clock, putting Greenfield on the foul line, with 13 seconds left.
Greenfield, Yale’s top free throw shooter, knocked down both
attempts to extend the lead to four points at 59-55. After a
Terriers’ bucket brought the lead back to two points, Vasquez
calmly iced the game for Yale with a pair of foul shots with just
five seconds left on the clock. A desperation heave for BU, which
would not have been enough for the Terriers regardless, fell
harmlessly to the floor as the final buzzer sounded, giving Yale
its fourth win of the season, 61-57.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 19 against
UC Davis. The 7 p.m. game with the Aggies will be Yale’s
final home contest prior to a seven-game round trip.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity
