Dec. 11, 2007
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NEW HAVEN, Conn.--Last year when the Yale women's basketball team met Hofstra in Hempstead, free throw shooting was the difference. The Bulldogs went just 4-for-14 from the line in an 81-62 Pride victory. When the teams met again Tuesday evening at the John J. Lee Amphitheater, it was again Yale free throw shooting that helped determine the outcome. The Bulldogs (2-5) made their last 22 free throws, including all 14 of their attempts in the second half, to hold off the Pride (2-6), 73-67, in the first half of a Yale basketball doubleheader. Yale shot 92.6 percent (25-of-27) from the charity stripe in the game.
Yale led 62-52 with 7:17 remaining in the game before Hofstra went on a 6-0 run to cut it to four with 2:25 left. After Linn Quamme's jumper made it 62-58, Stephanie Marciano drained a three-pointer to bring Yale's lead back to seven at 65-58. Quamme made a basket on Hofstra's end, then Mady Gobrecht missed a jumper and Hofstra's Sam Brigham pulled down the rebound. On the ensuing possession, Niki Williams hit a three from right in front of the Pride bench to cut the lead to two, 65-63, with 1:28 remaining.
The Bulldogs still led by two with nine seconds left when Melissa Colborne drained a pair of foul shots to make it a two-possession game. Quamme missed a hurried trey with two seconds remaining, and Colborne nailed her 11th and 12th free throws of the game to seal the 73-67 victory.
"I'm not surprised that we shot so well at the line," Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Chris Gobrecht said. "We're good shooters, and good shooters are good free throw shooters."
Hofstra led 16-4 just 5:22 into the game, but Yale responded with a 16-4 run of its own to tie it at 20-20 with 5:24 left in the first half. Yale took its first lead of the game when Jamie Van Horne's layup made it 22-20 with 4:44 remaining before halftime. The Bulldogs continued their rally and took a 35-24 lead advantage Yoyo Greenfield sank four free throws with 2:12 remaining in the half. The second two foul shots were the result of a technical foul on the Hofstra bench. Yale ended the first half on a 33-13 spurt and led 37-29 at intermission.
Yale continued its assault early in the second half. The lead reached a game-high 14 points when Marciano's three-pointer made it 47-33 with 16:49 left. After Haywood Wright's trey made the score 52-38 with 15:16 remaining, the Pride went on a 20-10 run to set up the action in the last few minutes.
Colborne had 16 points and tied the school record for free throws made in a game by going 12-for-12 from the line. She added five rebounds and three assists. Van Horne tallied 15 points and added four rebounds. Marciano went 4-for-5 from three-point range, contributing 14 points to go along with three assists. Wright had five points and a team-high four assists. Lindsey Williams chipped in eight points and grabbed a game-high eight boards while notching a career-high three steals. Yale shot 40.8 percent (20-of-49) from the field and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from three-point land, and outrebounded Hofstra 32-30.
Quamme led the Pride with a career-high 17 points. Candice Bellocchio tallied a career-high 16 points and added six assists for the Pride. Bellocchio went 8-for-8 from the line. Britne Rodgers and Niki Williams each had 10 points, while Williams added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Natty Fripp grabbed a team-high five rebounds. The Pride shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field and 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the arc. Hofstra was excellent at the line, as well, shooting 76.5 percent (13-of-17). Neither team missed a free throw in the second half.
The Bulldogs now have 11 days off for exams before their next outing. Yale heads up the road to Quinnipiac for a 1 p.m. tilt on Dec. 22 in the team's final game before Christmas. Last year, Yale snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bobcats with an 81-64 victory at the John J. Lee Amphitheater. The game can be heard live on WYBC-AM 1340 and www.yalebulldogs.com.
NOTES: Colborne tied a record for free throws in a game held by three others and last done by Sara McCollum at George Washington on Dec. 20, 2005...With three treys, Van Horne now has 115 career three-pointers...Yale and Hofstra met in the first game of a doubleheader for the second straight year; last year the Hofstra men took on St. Francis (N.Y.) in the nightcap and this year the Yale men met Boston University...The Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak against the Pride and took a 6-5 lead in the all-time series...Yale defeated both Long Island teams (Stony Brook and Hofstra) in the same season for the first time in program history...The Bulldogs are 14-12 at home under Chris Gobrecht.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity
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