Bulldogs' Winning Streak Ends At Seven

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Even in causing 23 Harvard turnovers and outscoring the Crimson's bench, 29-18, the Yale women's basketball team saw its seven-game winning streak snapped by its old rival in a 65-55 defeat in the Lavietes Pavilion on Saturday night.

In a physical and tightly-contested matchup between two strong Ivy teams, the Crimson (9-11, 2-4 Ivy) used a 47-36 rebounding advantage to hang onto its lead during a Yale (11-9, 5-1 Ivy) charge late in the second half.

The Bulldogs shot a decent 37.1-percent for the game, but were only 23.8-percent from beyond the arc (5-of-21), while the Crimson were 7-of-16 (43.8-percent) from long range. Senior forward Erin McDonnell was 6-of-10 from three for Harvard, on her way to a game-high 18 points.

Yale's tough defense resulted in 12 steals, four of which were by junior center Emmy Allen (Overland Park, Kan.). Though the defense came away with steals, a 30-23 defensive rebounding deficit allowed Harvard more possessions, while the Crimson also grabbed 17 offensive boards.

Junior guard Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) scored a game-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting for the Elis, while freshman guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) continued her strong inaugural season with 13 points on Saturday. No other Bulldog player scored more than six.

Sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while junior forward Meredith Boardman (Oak Park, Ill.) pulled down seven of her own.

Yale heavily relied on its shooting from the field, as the team shot only nine free throws in the game (4-of-9), while Harvard sunk 16-of-23 from the charity stripe.

The starting backcourt of Simpson, freshman guard Mary Ann Santucci (Seattle, Wash.) and junior guard Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) turned the ball over 10 combined times, as Yale turned the ball over 20 times as a team for only the second time this season.

The Crimson, who have now won six straight against the Bulldogs, got help from 35 total points by senior forwards McDonnell and Temi Fagbenle. Fagbenle added 17 points to McDonnell's 18, which included shooting 9-of-11 from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs, who faced a 10-point deficit at halftime, came roaring back in the second half, starting the period on a 20-12 run and cutting the Harvard lead to two at the seven-minute mark.

With 6:30 left in the game and the shot clock running down, McDonnell rose up for a desperation heave while being tightly defended by Sarju at the top of the key. McDonnell banked home the jumper, in what proved to be the momentum-changing play.

Just as it seemed Yale was back in the game, the Crimson pushed it back out of reach again, utilizing a 10-0 run of their own to stretch the lead to 12 with 4:15 remaining in the game.

But the Bulldogs weren't done yet. Simpson would score five quick points in the next minute-and-a-half for Yale on a strong drive to the hoop and a fast-break layup, assisted by Wyckoff, to cut the lead to six.

Harvard would finish the final three minutes with an 8-4 advantage, with Fagbenle scoring seven of the final eight, including 5-of-5 from the free throw line, to hang on for the win.

Yale played its way to a 7-6 lead in the first five minutes of the game as the Bulldogs' pressure defense proved effective, causing four Harvard turnovers in that time.

However, the Crimson would shoot 41.4-percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, which included McDonnell's 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Harvard lead grew to as much as 13 in the first half, before Sarju hit a three-pointer and narrowed the lead to 10 at the intermission.

Yale's bench scoring was led by Sarju's 14, while sophomore guards Meghan McIntyre (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.) and Lena Munzer (Highland Park, Ill.) scored six and five points, respectively.

The game drew a crowd of 1,854 to the Lavietes Pavilion, as Pink Night was celebrated by Harvard for cancer awareness, along with several other game-day promotions. Yale will host its Pink Night and Youth Day next Saturday (Feb. 14) when Princeton comes to town for a 7 p.m. game in the Lee Amphitheater.

The Bulldogs return to action next Friday at home against Penn with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity