Bulldogs Shoot 43.8-Percent From Three-Point Range

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – In a high-energy game that saw 10 lead changes throughout, the Yale women's basketball shot 42.2-percent from the field and caused 22 turnovers, but ultimately fell short, losing to Harvard, 68-63, on Friday night in the Lee Amphitheater.

The Bulldogs (12-15, 6-7 Ivy) scored 31 points off turnovers and outscored the Harvard bench, 26-6, in the loss, but were unable to overcome a 54.9-percent (28-of-51) shooting attack by the Crimson.

Freshman guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) and junior guard Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) turned in stellar efforts for the Elis. Simpson scored a team-high 17 points on an impressive 8-of-12 shooting performance, with four steals and two assists. Wyckoff added 16 on 6-of-14 shooting with three steals and three rebounds.

Coming off a 28-percent shooting display against Penn on Saturday, the Bulldogs' offense was much sharper against the Crimson. The Elis turned the ball over only 12 times and found open shooters near the three-point line, where Yale was 7-of-16 on the night.

"We were just moving the ball and looking for open people. We were more poised out there, not rushing anything," said sophomore guard Meghan McIntyre (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.). "We were just running our offense, which is something we did better tonight than last weekend."

McIntyre scored nine points off the bench for Yale, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. All of McIntyre's field goals came in a five-minute stretch in the first half, with one of the long-range jumpers being closer to NBA range than college.

"I was feeling pretty good, it's always nice to hit your first shot. It gives you a lot of confidence," said McIntyre.

Harvard held a decisive 40-23 rebounding advantage in the game, including a 29-13 edge in defensive boards. In addition to her 15 points, senior forward Temi Fagbenle, the Ivy's leading rebounder, pulled down 10 boards for the Crimson.

"It didn't seem like they had that many more rebounds, but they did grab a lot of them," said McIntyre. "Some of their rebounds changed the momentum because they got putbacks and if anything, that was most noticeable."

The Crimson's sharp-shooting did not go uncontested, as the Bulldogs continued to pressure Harvard, forcing 19 turnovers from the Crimson's starters. The Elis held a 10-1 edge in steals, with Simpson and Wyckoff combining for seven of them.

"I thought our defense was really good. We challenged them and the shots that they hit were challenged," said McIntyre. "Our defense was good, they just hit some big-time shots."

Junior forward AnnMarie Healy scored a game-high 24 for Harvard on 10-of-11 shooting from the field. Healy entered the game averaging 12.9 points per contest.

In a deadlocked 59-59 game with 2:28 remaining, Harvard guard Shilpa Tummala hit a step-back three-pointer to put the Crimson up by three, a lead it would not surrender.

After a traveling violation by Simpson on the other end for Yale, Healy hit one of two free throws to push the Crimson lead to four. A turnover by Wyckoff resulted in a jumper by Fagbenle, putting Harvard up by six with 53 seconds left.

A few more buckets were exchanged before the final whistle on Special Olympics Night in the Lee Amphitheater.

Harvard shot 61.1-percent (11-of-18) from the field in the second half, mustering just enough offense after holding a five-point lead at halftime. The Bulldogs outscored the Crimson in the paint (22-14), off turnovers (19-4), and off the bench (14-2) in the final 20 minutes, but came up just short of avenging a loss to Harvard back on Feb. 7.

The Bulldogs started the second half on a 6-0 run, orchestrated by Simpson, who accounted for four points and a steal in the first two minutes of play, which erased Harvard's first-half lead.

Sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) hit a layup at the sound of the first-half buzzer which narrowed a once nine-point lead by Harvard to five at the intermission.

Yale shot 50-percent (14-of-28) as a team in the first half and were 6-of-9 from three-point distance. Simpson scored 10 of her 17 in the half.

The Bulldogs will play their final game of the season on Saturday night at home against Dartmouth, with a 7 p.m. tip scheduled. It will be Senior Night for Yale, which will honor senior captain Sarah Halejian (Wyckoff, N.J.) in a pregame ceremony.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity