Elis Cruise To Third Straight Victory

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A career-high 19 points by freshman guard Tamara Simpson, mixed with relentless full-court pressure defense by the Bulldogs, helped the Yale women's basketball team to a 66-49 rout of the Brown Bears on Friday night in the Lee Amphitheater.

In front of the biggest home crowd of the season, the Bulldogs (7-8, 1-0 Ivy) won their inaugural Ivy League game due in large part to causing 23 turnovers by the Bears and holding a 21-8 advantage in points-off-turnovers for the game.

Junior guard Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) and sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) joined Simpson in double-figures, scoring 13 and 10, respectively. Werner also led Yale in rebounds, pulling down seven, three of which were on the offensive glass.

The Bulldogs added to their three-game winning streak by shutting down Brown's senior captain, Sophie Bikofsky, who entered the game averaging 14.4 points per game. Bikofsky (0-3 FG) scored only one point in the game, which didn't happen until the 3:42 mark of the second half.  

"She's an outstanding shooter, you just cannot give her an ounce of daylight," said Class of 1954, Joel E. Smilow Yale head coach Chris Gobrecht on the Brown guard. "We worked very hard to not give her any good looks."

Yale also held Brown's leading scorer, Jordin Alexander, to under her 17-point average, allowing the guard only 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting.

"We really locked down on defense tonight, we helped each other out and rotated really well," said Werner about the Bulldog defense, which held Brown to only 49 points while the Bears came into the game averaging 66.6 per contest.

On top of the smothering defense, which rarely gave Brown a decent look at the rim, Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) provided the scoring punch that the Bulldogs needed. The freshman scored her game-high 19 on 8-of-12 shooting, while also adding six rebounds, three assists, and three steals to her stat line.

"Tamara has been outstanding and the whole team is really proud of her. I know she'll continue to do it because she's a great player," said Werner about her teammate.

When asked about Simpson, Gobrecht simply said, "She's a good player. I'm glad she's on our side."

Right from the opening whistle, the Bulldogs were all over the Bears, jumping out to a 23-6 lead in the first 12 minutes of the game. In that stretch, the Yale defense had already caused 12 turnovers by Brown, while Eli shooters were sinking 50-percent of their shots.

Following an 18-point effort against Maine and a 10-point performance against Saint Peter's, Sarju remained scorching hot from the field in the first half, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting (2-of-5 3FG) for the Bulldogs.

A three-pointer by Werner at the 5:51 mark gave Yale its largest lead of the game at 22. At halftime, the Bulldogs had allowed the Brown offense only 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting, the lowest first half scoring total of any Yale opponent this season.

It was a very physical game, as both teams combined for 24 turnovers in the first half, which offered many opportunities for loose balls and bodies on the floor.

The Bears tried to inch their way back into the game, starting the second half on a 13-4 run. Brown started having success in applying full-court pressure, causing five Yale turnovers in the first eight minutes.

However, once Brown had trimmed the lead to seven with 12:33 remaining, the Bulldogs ripped the game open with a 16-6 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to take a 50-33 lead. Six points by Simpson and a three-pointer by freshman guard Mary Ann Santucci (Seattle, Wash.) helped to spark the offensive tear.

Both teams would play even the rest of the way, producing a 66-49 final in the first Ivy League game for both squads this season.

Yale continued its dominance on the offensive glass, holding a 15-8 advantage in that category, which produced 10 second-chance points for the Bulldogs. Werner and freshman forward Jen Berkowitz (Wayland, Mass.) each grabbed three.

The Bulldogs outrebounded Brown, 40-32, improving the Elis to 6-0 in games when they outperform their opponent on the glass.

Alexander led Brown with 12 points, while Ellise Sharpe added 10 of her own for the Bears.

Yale and Brown will play again next Friday night in Providence with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. Visit yalebulldogs.com in the coming week for a game preview of round two between the Bulldogs and Bears.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity Assistant