Yale Remains Tied For Third In The Ivy League

PRINCETON, N.J. – Two weeks after coming within a few possessions of knocking off undefeated Princeton, the Yale women's basketball team could not overcome a 40-16 scoring deficit in the paint, losing to the No. 14 Tigers, 67-49, on Friday night in the Jadwin Gymnasium.

The Bulldogs (12-13, 6-5 Ivy), trailing by as many as 32 points in the second half, refused to succumb to the Princeton attack, finishing the game on a strong 17-7 run over the final seven minutes to tighten up the final score.

Junior guard Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) matched her career-high with 18 points, a mark she first achieved only five days ago in a victory over Columbia. Wyckoff shot 6-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-6 from the free throw line against the Tigers.

"It's always nice to hit that first shot, it gives you some confidence," said Wyckoff of her performance. "You keep shooting after that, and if it keeps going in, you keep doing it."

Despite Wyckoff's strong offensive efforts, the rest of the team shot only 24-percent (11-of-45) from the field, struggling to find a scoring rhythm against the Tigers' top-ranked defense.

"I don't necessarily think it was their defense, we were just stagnant. We fall into that a lot, just not moving the ball on offense," said Wyckoff. "I'm not sure why, but when we become stagnant, we can't get anything going."

Princeton came into the game allowing only 51.5 points per game, the fewest in the Ivy League. The Tigers caused 20 Yale turnovers, an uncharacteristic amount for the Bulldogs, who came in averaging only 14 per game. Princeton scored 22 points off Yale turnovers.

One of the bright spots of the game for the Bulldogs was the emergence of freshman guard Clara Mokri (Los Angeles, Calif.), who had a career night with 13 points (5-of-11) and four steals in 15 minutes on the floor. Mokri was 3-of-3 from long range for Yale, on her way to setting personal-bests in points, field goals, three-pointers, steals, and minutes played.

"You can't give up, because if it seems like you're going to lose, it might actually turn out you have a chance to get back into the game," said Mokri of her team's strong second-half performance.

The Bulldogs turned in a strong second half performance, being outscored only 33-31 in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers used some reserve players in the second half, as did the Bulldogs, and the Elis played Princeton tough.

Ahead by 16 points at halftime, Princeton used an 11-0 run in the first four minutes of the second half and took control of the game. The Tigers were led in the game by senior guard Blake Dietrick with 18 points and junior forward Annie Tarakchian with 16.

Trailing by 32 with 13 minutes remaining, the Bulldogs would respond. In a three minute span, Mokri would score 10 straight points for Yale, cutting the lead to 57-32 with 8:27 remaining.

After a jumper and two free throws by Wyckoff, Mokri would hit another three, capping off a 20-10 Yale run and narrowing the lead to a manageable deficit.

In the final 3:15 of regulation, the Bulldogs would go on a 10-6 run, with five points from sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.). The Elis were more active on the offensive end in the second half, taking 31 shots compared to only 23 in the first.

The Bulldogs trailed by 16 at halftime due in large part to Princeton's 48.1-percent shooting performance as a team, while Yale shot only 30.4-percent. Wyckoff scored 13 of her 18 in the first half.

The Tigers outscored Yale in the paint, 20-6, in the first half, led by Tarakchian's 10 points. Princeton finished the game with 40 points in the paint, which accounted for 59.7-percent of its scoring.

Junior forward Meredith Boardman (Oak Park, Ill.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. As a team, Yale grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, resulting in 12 second-chance points.

The Bulldogs remain tied for third place in the Ivy League following Cornell's loss to Harvard on Friday night. Yale travels to play second-place Penn on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in The Palestra and it will be Senior Night for the Quakers.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity