Guth Makes Coaching Debut For Yale

DAYTON, Ohio – It is fitting that on the day Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth made her coaching debut for the Yale women's basketball team, it was indeed memorable for a number of reasons against Dayton at the UD Arena on Friday morning.

With an aggressive game plan to slow down the powerful Flyers, who reached the Elite 8 last season, the Bulldogs stayed with Dayton the entire way – ultimately falling behind down the stretch and losing a close 81-75 contest in front of a crowd of 10,159 fans on "School Day".

Facing a Dayton team that is currently receiving votes to be in the AP Top 25, the Bulldogs (0-1) had a strong performance behind the career-day of senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.).

Sarju scored a game-high and career-high 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting, as well as 9-of-10 from the free throw line, making Yale history in the process. It was the first time a Bulldog player has scored 30 points in a game since Erica Davis scored 36 against Lafayette back in 2004.

"We were moving the ball around really well and I was just open coming off the screens," said Sarju, who also had a game-high nine rebounds. "It was just the flow of the game. We have so many top options that any one of us can score. It makes us tough to guard."

Senior captain Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) added 15 points for the Bulldogs, who shot 42.6-percent from the field as a team. Yale shot 53.6-percent in the first half, in which the first two quarters of the NCAA's four-quarter system took effect.

For over nine minutes of regulation, the Elis and Flyers were tied. Despite Yale leading for just 1:34, Guth's squad did not trail by more than six points until the final minute of the game.

Even with Dayton's lineup featuring two players at 6-4 and 6-5, the Bulldogs fought down-low for every rebound and earned a very respectable 42-36 deficit on the boards. Six players had at least three rebounds for Yale.

In the end, it was 19 turnovers that hurt the Bulldogs, despite causing 14 of their own. Dayton scored 18 points off Yale turnovers, including two made free throws off a Wyckoff turnover with 1:55 remaining. Dayton pushed the lead to four at the time.

"I'm really proud of how our team played today. They really bought into the game plan and we were prepared for Dayton," said Guth. "If we took better care of the ball, valued our possessions and made a few defensive adjustments, we could have come out on top."

Senior guard Amber Deane led Dayton with 19 points (11-12 FT), while center Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova and guard Jenna Burdette chipped in 12 each.

With the game tied at 71 and only 2:19 remaining, the Flyers started cashing in by driving to the hoop, getting three layups down the stretch to eventually pull away from the tenacious Bulldogs.

A turnover by Wyckoff at midcourt with 1:59 remaining, followed by a foul, allowed Burdette to sink two free throws and give Dayton a four-point lead.

Two missed free throws by junior forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) on the following possession led to a layup by Burdette, pushing the lead to six. The Bulldogs were outscored 10-4 in the final 2:19.

Each time the Flyers tried to pull ahead in the second half, the Bulldogs fought back. Trailing 46-40 at the 8:30 mark of the third quarter, Yale went on a 7-0 run to take a one-point advantage. Sarju scored four of her 30 points in that stretch.

"She was phenomenal, and not just from a scoring aspect. When a kid hits 30, you always want to talk about the offense, but executed perfectly on the defensive pick-and-roll situations we faced," said Guth. "We're going to expect performances like that from her on a lot of nights."

The game was tied at halftime, 40-40, as the Bulldogs shot over 50-percent from the field, while holding Dayton to just 36.1-percent shooting. Yale also shot 38.5-percent from long distance (5-of-13), using the three-ball to its advantage.

Despite the disadvantage in size, the Bulldogs matched the Flyers with 16 points in the paint in the first half. Sarju scored 18 of her 30 in the first 20 minutes, nearly matching her previous career-high of 22 points in just one half.

"The brand of basketball you saw today is a direct reflection of how we practice. Our teams plays so hard and fights every play," said Guth. "We've got Albertus Magnus on Sunday and it's all about fixing the things we didn't do today."

Wyckoff and junior forward Elizabeth Haley (Dayton, Ohio) played in front of their families and friends in the UD Arena, as both are Ohio natives.

The Bulldogs return to the hardwood on Sunday when they host Albertus Magnus in the Lee Amphitheater at 2 p.m. The Guth era has officially begun.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity