Bulldogs Outscore Wildcats, 21-2, In Fastbreak Points

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Though it was a scheduled basketball game, the Yale women's basketball team made Saturday's game with New Hampshire feel more like a track meet, as the Bulldogs ran past the Wildcats (literally), 63-46.

The Elis (9-7) started the new year with one of their strongest efforts of the season, using an 18-0 run in the third quarter and a 21-2 advantage in transition points to blow past the visiting Wildcats in the 2016 opener.

Leading by seven points at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored New Hampshire in the third quarter, 22-9, on their way to their eighth double-digit victory of the season. Yale's biggest lead in the game was 22 early in the fourth quarter.

"I was really pleased with our transition – that was an area of focus coming into this game," said Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth. "We played our style today, with sprinting the floor and seeing what opportunities we have to make quick turns off turnovers or made shots."

Yale's defense was the story on Saturday, as it forced the Wildcats into 19 turnovers, which led the Bulldogs to 20 points off those miscues. It seemed at times that the Elis were moving twice as fast as New Hampshire, relentlessly attacking at the basket.

"Every game we try to push in transition on offense and it was one of our main goals today," said senior captain Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio). "We were also successful in our transition defense; having someone stop the ball is crucial."

Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) led the way with 14 points, while senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) and sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) each added 13 in the win.

"It's great to have scoring threats from everywhere on the floor. We've had some highlights this year from Whitney, Nyasha and Tamara," said Guth about her leading scorers. "The balance in our scoring, from everyone, will make us hard to deal with."

On offense, the Bulldogs had a season-low nine turnovers, which helped them in taking 15 more shots than the Wildcats. Yale also outscored New Hampshire in points off turnovers, 20-3, making every mistake count.

"We were really dedicated to our assignments today and had a lot of energy coming off two road losses. We really wanted to win at home," said Simpson, who had a game-high four steals. The Wildcats shot just 36.4-percent (16-of-44) from the field as a team.

The Bulldogs shot 39-percent (23-of-59) as a team, including 7-of-21 from three-point range. For the second straight game, five different players made a three-pointer.

Not only did the Elis perform from the outside, but also scored in the paint, showing the ability to go to the basket and draw fouls on the New Hampshire forwards. Yale had a 28-12 scoring edge in the paint and improve to 5-1 this season when having an advantage in that category.

"We've had great games inside with interior scoring. We have a lot of scoring threats and it will make us really difficult to guard if we can get one or two more players scoring in double-figures," said Guth.

A seven-point halftime lead was quickly cut to three after back-to-back jumpers by the Wildcats, making it 31-28 at the 7:43 mark of the third quarter. That is when the Bulldogs exploded.

Over the next six minutes, Yale went on an 18-0 run to take complete control of the game. It started with Wyckoff's beautiful reverse layup for a three-point play at 7:19, and was quickly followed by a barrage of easy layups and three-pointers.

Yale took a 53-33 lead into the fourth quarter, allowing there to be time for some bench players to play late in the game. 10 different players scored for the Bulldogs, including buckets from junior forward Elizabeth Haley (Dayton, Ohio) and sophomore guard Clara Mokri (Los Angeles, Calif.).

It was the eighth quarter this season that the Yale defense has allowed a single-digit amount of points to its opponent. The Elis shot 8-of-14 in the third, forcing six turnovers in the period that decided the game.

"We talked about stopping the ball early and full-court man-to-man defense," said Guth, whose team recorded 15 steals. "We wanted to switch things up and make sure we were a defensive presence, setting the tone from the tip. Our team really bought into that day. I'm proud of how they defended."

New Hampshire leading scorer Elizabeth Belanger was held to just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. The Wildcats didn't have one scorer in double figures.

Junior guard Meghan McIntyre (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.) had a game-high five assists, while junior guard Lena Munzer (Highland Park, Ill.) and sophomore guard Mary Ann Santucci (Seattle, Wash.) each had two assists in the win.

Yale will continue its 2016 schedule next Sunday in the final non-league matchup of the season against Boston College. Tip-off from Chestnut Hill, Mass. is slated for 1 p.m.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity