Box Score Dominant Second Half Fuels Bulldogs' Win.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The most important takeaway from Wednesday night's game for the Yale women's basketball was a convincing 90-65 win over Wagner College, but it was an historic 40 minutes for several members of the Bulldog squad to accentuate the victory in the Spiro Sports Center.
Class of 1954, Joel E. Smilow head coach Chris Gobrecht became the all-time winningest coach in the 42-year history of Yale women's basketball, recording her 108th career victory while toeing the sidelines for the Elis. Entering the game, Gobrecht already holds the wins record at the University of Washington with 243 victories in 11 seasons with the Huskies (1986-96).
Gobrecht joins only five other Division I women's coaches to have the most wins at two different institutions (Conditions: 500+ wins and 10+ years with at least one institution). That list includes coaching greats Jim Foster, Sylvia Hachell, Gary Blair, Joan Bonvicini, and Theresa Grentz.
"It's called longevity. It's called being able to hang around at a place long enough to rack up the wins," joked Gobrecht after the win. "I feel like Washington and Yale have been the highlights of my career and so it's a real privilege to have records at those two places."
Yale (4-5, 0-0 Ivy) started the game exchanging buckets with the Seahawks (0-9), who were single-handedly led by sophomore guard Jasmine Nwajei, who scored 32 points on 13-of-28 shooting for the game. No other Wagner player scored more than seven.
After leading only 21-20 at the 12:13 mark, a 19-12 run to close the first half gave the Bulldogs a little breathing room at intermission, which was due in large part to sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) scoring 12 of her 17 in the first half.
Right from the start of the second half, the Bulldogs used a very high-paced offensive attack to baffle the Seahawks. For the game, Yale outscored Wagner in fast break points, 20-8.
Yale caught fire from the three-point line in the second half on its way to its best long-range shooting performance of the season, hitting 8-of-13 throughout the game. Junior Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) made four and sophomore Lena Munzer (Highland Park, Ill.) made three, helping to stretch the lead at pivotal points.
The Bulldogs capitalized off a 50-33 second-half scoring advantage to take control of the game. The 50-point second half is the highest-scoring half of basketball the Elis have played this season. For the second straight game, Yale shot 50-percent or better in the second half (shot 53.6 –percent in the second half against UMass-Lowell), going 21-of-42 from the field.
Wednesday night was full of personal bests. Sarju scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including going 4-of-6 from behind the arc, to lead the Bulldogs' offense. The junior guard added six rebounds, four assists, and two blocks to her stat line for the night.
Meanwhile, Munzer recorded her first career double-double, scoring 12 (3-of-5 3FG) and grabbing 11 rebounds, including a game-high five offensive boards. The point and rebound totals are both season-highs for the second-year guard.
"They both played really well. Those are two great shooters and it was really nice to see them tonight catching their stride," said Gobrecht about Sarju and Munzer.
For the ninth consecutive game, senior captain Sarah Halejian (Wyckoff, N.J.) managed to score in double-figures, adding 12 points in the win, 10 of which came in the second half. With the 12 points, Halejian passes Kelly LeComte for 10th place on the Yale women's basketball all-time scoring list (1,186 points). The senior guard also dished out six assists.
Werner tied a career-best with 17 points, accomplishing the personal record for the first time only nine days ago against UMass-Lowell. The Phoenix native also grabbed nine rebounds, while continuing her dominance on the offensive glass with four boards.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Seahawks, 54-41, as well as shot 12-of-14 from the free throw line to Wagner's 8-of-19. Yale's 24 points off 17 Wagner turnovers also helped to break the game wide open.
Gobrecht's squad will stay on the road and head to Lewisburg, Pa. for a showdown with Bucknell on Friday at 4:30 p.m., the final game before a six-day holiday break.
Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity
