Bulldogs and Red Storm To Play On ESPN3
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Following a stretch of three home games in six days, the Yale women's basketball team returns to the road for another tough non-league challenge and its third this season against a team receiving votes in the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.
The Bulldogs (6-4), fresh off an 18-point win over Wagner on Sunday, will travel to play St. John's on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and is part of a St. John's doubleheader, with the women's game being played second.
Tip-off will likely be pushed back closer to 7:30 p.m. due to the men's game at 5 p.m. Live stats and game updates on @YaleWBB on Twitter will also be available.
On the recent home stand, the Elis were 2-1 with convincing wins over Manhattan and Wagner, while losing a close game to Army on Thursday. Sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) scored a career-high 22 points in the win on Sunday.
In addition to Simpson's performance, senior guard Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) recorded her second-career double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Both players were named to the Ivy League Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 7 for their efforts.
The Yale defense continues to produce this season, causing 22 turnovers by the Seahawks on Sunday. In all 10 games, the Bulldogs have forced their opponents into a double-digit amount of turnovers, leading to their Ivy League-best 19.5 turnovers per game.
With 42.9 rebounds per game as a team, the Elis are second-best in the Ivy League when it comes to efficiency on the glass. Their 15.6 offensive rebounds per game are the most among Ancient Eight teams. Five players are averaging four or more rebounds per game.
Three players, including senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.), are averaging nine or more points per game, proving there to be balance on the offensive end. Sarju is third in the Ivy League with 16.7 points per contest.
The Bulldogs look for their first true road win of the season, as the two wins recorded away from the Lee Amphitheater were both neutral site victories as part of the Hall of Fame Women's Challenge. Yale has been dominant at home thus far, going 4-1 through the first five games.
St. John's is the only Big East team that Yale plays this season. The Red Storm hold a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series, after winning the first meeting between the two programs last season, 61-50, in the Bulldogs' season-opener on Nov. 15.
Scouting St. John's
Since losing its season-opener to UCLA in Los Angeles, the Red Storm have gone on a six-game winning streak, with notable wins over Rutgers, No. 17/18 South Florida and Kansas.
St. John's is 6-1 entering Wednesday and currently receiving votes in both national polls, becoming the third opponent for Yale this season to be receiving national recognition at the time of the game (also Dayton and North Carolina).
The Red Storm is unbeaten at home (3-0) and is led by senior guards Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant. Handford was named Big East Player of the Week on Dec. 7, as she averages 19.9 points per game and is shooting 51.3-percent from the field.
Grant is the leading scorer for St. John's, with 20.1 points per game, while also grabbing a team-best 5.9 rebounds per contest. The team averages 71.4 points per game, third-most in the Big East, and leads the league with 48.1-percent shooting.
In last year's game, Grant scored a game-high 30 points on 14-of-26 shooting for the Red Storm, while Handford scored 18 on 7-of-16 shooting, to lead St. John's to the 11-point win in New Haven.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Quick Hands: Tamara Simpson leads the Ivy League with 3.2 steals per game, tying her for 22nd in the nation. She has recorded at least five steals in four games this season.
Perimeter Defense: The Bulldogs are eighth in the nation when it comes to defending the three-point shot. Opponents are shooting just 21.3-percent from long range against the Elis, due to their intense pressure defense around the arc.
Starting Fast, Ending Strong: Yale holds a +39 cumulative scoring margin against opponents in the first quarter this season, as well as a +36 scoring margin in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs are 6-0 this season when outscoring their opponent in the final period.
Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity
