Three Players Score In Double-Figures For Bulldogs

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Friday night was bittersweet for Tamara Simpson, as she set the Yale single-season steals record, but the Elis lost a once 20-point lead and eventually a 68-63 decision to Dartmouth in the Lee Amphitheater.

"It's nice to be in the records, but it wasn't even on my mind. I didn't even know I broke the record until it was announced at halftime," said Simpson, who broke Sue Johnson's 32-year record of 74 steals in the 1983-84 season.

Simpson had another stellar game for the Bulldogs (11-13, 2-5 Ivy) with 17 points on 8-of-16 shooting to go with her career-high nine steals (79 for the season), needing only five to break the record. It was a 44-26 scoring deficit in the second half that sunk the Elis.

Dartmouth's 57.7-percent shooting from the field in the second half, compared to Yale's 29-percent, helped the Big Green overcome a 13-point halftime deficit. Lakin Roland led Dartmouth with a game-high 24 points, while Kate Letkewicz added 18.

"With the big lead, we tried not to become too complacent and wanted to get off to a strong start in the second half," said Simpson. "They started hitting shots, especially three-pointers, and it made them more comfortable."

The Big Green were 6-of-8 from long range in the second half, finishing the game shooting 10-of-18 from beyond the arc. Yale was just 6-of-22, with four coming from junior guard Meghan McIntyre (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.).

McIntyre scored 12 points in the loss, while senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) contributed 15 on 7-of-16 shooting. Senior guard Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) had eight points, seven rebounds and four steals on Friday.

"With Dartmouth going on its run, we found ourselves in bad defensive matchups and had poor offensive execution," said Simpson. "It was hard to rally on their run, but we have to start finishing games."

For most of the night, the Yale defense was unstoppable – forcing 20 Dartmouth turnovers, which resulted in 26 points. The Bulldogs had 16 steals to Dartmouth's three, including 10 in the first half.

Good looks started opening up for the Big Green in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter when Yale was outscored 26-12.

With a 51-42 lead heading into the fourth, the Elis just couldn't pull away. Leading by nine at the 7:05 mark, Dartmouth hit consecutive three-pointers to cut the lead to 56-53. Back-to-back hoops by Sarju pushed the lead back to seven with 4:52 remaining.

A turnovers by McIntyre, followed by a missed jumper by Simpson, allowed the Big Green to pull within one with 3:15 to go and all of the momentum.

Yale went cold in the final minutes, getting only a three from McIntyre with 13 seconds left to cut Dartmouth's lead to 65-63. Two made free throws by Letkewicz on the other end sealed the comeback for the Big Green.

Simpson broke the school's single-season steals record in the first half, scoring 13 points and snatching five steals in a Yale-dominated first two quarters. At the break, Yale led 37-24 after leading by as many as 20 at the 3:24 mark of the second.

A mix of hot shooting for Dartmouth and cold shooting for Yale, as well as an inability to slow down Roland (15 points in the fourth) in crunch time, led to the five-point loss at home; just the second loss in the Lee Amphitheater this season for the Bulldogs.

Yale returns to action on Saturday night in the ninth-annual Pink Zone game, to take place at 7 p.m. against Harvard. The game can be watched on the Ivy League Digital Network and donations will be collected to benefit the Yale Cancer Center.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity