Second 20-Plus Point Game For Sarju This Season

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A 23-point performance by senior forward Nyasha Sarju was not enough on Thursday night, as the Yale women's basketball team lost a once 11-point lead on its way to a narrow 65-61 defeat at the hands of Army in the Lee Amphitheater.

Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) hit 10-of-21 shots in 36 minutes on the floor, but the Bulldogs (5-4) were kept off-balance in the second half due to Army's full-court pressure, being outscored 43-29 in the final two periods after taking a 10-point lead into halftime.

It was the tale of two halves, as the Bulldogs dominated in the first 20 minutes of play, while the Black Knights countered in the second. Yale was outrebounded, 27-13, in the second half, which included nine offensive boards for Army.

Facing a game-high eight-point deficit with 2:09 left in regulation, the Elis fought back as they have all season. Between a couple straight defensive stops and a technical foul on Army head coach Dave Magarity, Yale trimmed the lead to just two points with 38 seconds remaining.

Despite the effort, the night belonged to Army guard Kelsey Minato, who sunk four key free throws in the final minute as part of her 27-point outing to put the game away. Minato became Army's all-time leading scorer in the win.

"I don't think I've ever seen as good of a defensive effort on someone as I did in the first half against Minato," said Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth. Minato, who averaged 22.2 points per game coming in, had just seven at halftime.

"Between the play of Whitney (Wyckoff) and the rest of the team, we really kept her contained, but she got to the free throw line too many times," said Guth. The Army guard was 16-of-18 from the stripe.

The play of Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) in the first half was stellar, almost single-handedly holding Minato to 1-of-10 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) had five steals in the first half as part of the defensive effort– six total in the game.

Wyckoff had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Simpson added nine points, seven rebounds and six thefts to complement Sarju's scoring.

Yale led in nearly every category after the first quarter, finishing the period on a 9-5 run and taking a 16-9 lead into the second. The Bulldogs were shooting 43.8-percent from the field to Army's 25-percent, as Minato was held scoreless.

The Elis stretched their lead to 10 by halftime, using a mix of defensive aggression and offensive transition to keep the Black Knights looking for answers. By the intermission, Army had 10 turnovers and Yale scored 10 points off those miscues.

The tide turned quickly in the third period, as Army came out with full-court pressure to throw-off the Yale backcourt. After a first half where the Bulldogs outhustled the Black Knights to every ball, it seemed Army was beating Yale to the ball in the second.

"Army made good adjustments at halftime that kind of took us out of our plays. They rushed us offensively; it was great coaching," said Guth.

Army outscored Yale, 24-13, in the third period, while outrebounding the Bulldogs, 13-4. Minato scored 11 points in the quarter, including six free throws, which broke the Army scoring record.

Trailing by one point heading into the fourth, two jumpers by Sarju gave Yale the lead on two occasions in the first six minutes of the period. Over the next two minutes, Army went on a 9-0 run as Yale went 0-for-4 from the field and did not get any second-chance possessions.

The Elis nearly mounted a last-minute comeback, but were hurt by going 4-for-8 from the free throw line in the final two minutes as Army held on for the win.

"We needed to convert in a few key situations, and we just didn't," said Guth. "We didn't have the same fight in the second half – we ran out of gas."

Army sunk 26-of-32 free throws as a team, while Yale was 15-of-25 from the line in an extremely physical matchup. 47 personal fouls were called in the two-plus hour game.

The Bulldogs led Army in points off turnovers, 14-10, while the Black Knights held the edge in second-chance scoring, 14-7.

"This one hurts, but we will bounce back against Wagner on Sunday," said Guth.

The non-league home stand continues for Yale on Sunday when it hosts Wagner of the Northeast Conference at 2 p.m. in the Lee Amphitheater. The game can be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity