Bulldogs Have Won Two Of Last Three Games
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Following a thrilling last-minute win over Stony Brook on Saturday, the Yale women's basketball team hosts Illinois State on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the final game before a nine-day holiday break.
The Bulldogs (7-5) are looking for their second straight win and first-ever over the Redbirds, a team the Elis have never played. The game can be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network, live from the Lee Amphitheater. Live stats and Twitter updates on @YaleWBB are also available.
In a nail-biting game with five lead changes and six tied scores, the Elis grinded out a hard-fought win in their most recent game over the Seawolves, due in large part to a game-winning layup by senior captain Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) with 14.6 seconds remaining.
Senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.), the Ivy League's leading scorer with 17.2 points per game, poured in a team-high 21 on 9-of-17 shooting in the winning effort. Wyckoff and sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) each added 12 points.
The Yale defense added strong pressure around the arc, holding Stony Brook to just 1-of-11 shooting from three-point range and causing 15 turnovers. The Bulldogs scored 16 points off those miscues by the Seawolves.
In the last nine games, the Elis have gone back and forth between wins and losses, never mounting a winning or losing streak of more than one game at a time. Wednesday's game with the Redbirds will give Yale the chance to have its first two-game winning streak since Nov. 21-22 in victories over Iona and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Sarju was named College Sports Madness Ivy League Player of the Week on Monday for her outstanding performances against St. John's (18 points, six rebounds) and Stony Brook. She and Simpson were both named to the Ivy League Honor Roll this week, the fourth selection for each player this season.
Saturday's win over Stony Brook was the first time this season that the Bulldogs won a game that was decided by seven points or fewer. They were previously 0-3, dropping close games to Dayton (receiving votes), North Carolina (receiving votes) and Army.
Wednesday's game is the first-ever meeting between Yale and Illinois State. It is the final game for the Bulldogs until a trip to play Indiana on Dec. 28 and Albany on Dec. 30.
Scouting Illinois State
The Redbirds of the Missouri Valley Conference are 1-7 entering Wednesday night's matchup and are currently riding a six-game losing streak – most recently losing to Northern Illinois on Sunday.
Illinois State is led by third-year head coach, Barb Smith, who served as an assistant coach at Minnesota for six seasons. The Golden Gophers qualified for four NCAA tournaments in that time.
Senior forward Octavia Crump leads the Redbirds with 13.3 points per game and a 54.7-percent shooting clip from the field. Freshman guard Shakeela Fowler is averaging 11.3 points per game and a team-best 33 minutes per contest.
Illinois State faces a -14.6 scoring margin this season, averaging just 57.8 points per game. The Yale defense is causing an Ivy League-best 18.8 turnovers per game, which will surely present a challenge for the Redbirds.
The most recent Ivy League opponent faced by the Redbirds was Princeton back on Dec. 18, 2013. The Tigers won easily, 65-39.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Double the Effort: Sarju (17.2 ppg), Simpson (10.8 ppg) and Wyckoff (10.1 ppg) are all averaging more than 10 points per game this season, combining for 57.6-percent of the team's scoring.
Good To Be Home: The Bulldogs are 5-1 in the Lee Amphitheater this season, proving to be dominant on their home floor. Wednesday's game gives them a chance to improve that mark. They are 0-3 on the road and 2-1 in neutral site games.
Quick Hands: Yale's defense has recorded five games of 10 or more steals this season, including a season-high 19 in the win over Manhattan on Dec. 1. Simpson leads the Ivy League with three thefts per contest.
Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity
