Sarju Scores 20 For Seventh Time This Season

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Yale-Harvard rivalry delivered a classic on Friday night. Despite a furious comeback attempt by the Yale women's basketball team, Harvard's AnnMarie Healy beat the buzzer with a short-range jumper, sinking the Bulldogs, 65-63, in the Lavietes Pavilion.

Just as it seemed it would be the Elis (11-17, 2-9 Ivy) earning a comeback win on the road, the Crimson spoiled a 14-point comeback with the last-second shot, handing the Bulldogs yet another heartbreaking loss.  Yale is 1-8 in games decided by seven or fewer points this season.

Harvard had possession with a 63-63 tie and 32 seconds left in the game. Guard Sydney Skinner penetrated the Yale defense and dished it to Healy on the block. Healy missed a contested layup, but gathered her own rebound and hit the game-winning shot with no time remaining.

"We tried to defend and Jen (Berkowitz) tried to take a charge, but it was a no-call. It took us out of position for a rebound," said Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth. "We knew we had to get a stop, but we didn't get the rebound."

The lead changed six times throughout the contest, with Yale leading by as many as four points with 4:11 remaining, and then again at 2:26. Skinner mounted a 5-0 run on her own for the Crimson, giving them a 62-61 edge with 1:17 left.

Senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) knocked down a jumper with 34 seconds remaining to tie the game at 63 – setting up Harvard's game-winner.

"This is probably the most heartbreaking loss of the season," said Guth. "Our players just wouldn't give up and I was so proud of their effort. I feel bad we couldn't get it done on the road."

Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) was magnificent with 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while junior guard Lena Munzer (Highland Park, Ill.) netted 10 points in 26 minutes off the bench. Munzer added  four assists and four rebounds in the loss.

Munzer hit a big three-pointer at the 4:49 mark to give the Bulldogs a 57-55 lead. A layup by the third-year guard on the next possession pushed the advantage to 59-55. Two minutes later, Sarju hit a jumper to extend the lead back to four before Harvard's run.

"It really didn't come down to one last play. There were several things we could have controlled before that," said the Yale head coach. "We have to be players. Go to the free throw line and make free throws in a close game." Yale was 8-of-14 from the charity stripe on Friday.

All nine players scored for the Bulldogs – a big reason why they were able to overcome a 14-point deficit in the first quarter and an eight-point hole at halftime. Yale held a 27-6 edge in bench scoring over the Crimson.

The Eli defense proved stingier as the game progressed, allowing Harvard to shoot just 32.4-percent (11-of-34) in the second half. Harvard had 12 turnovers, which Yale translated into 18 points on the other end.

Forwards Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jen Berkowitz (Wayland, Mass.) combined for 14 points off the bench, contributing to Yale's 34-26 scoring advantage in the paint. However, it was Healy's 21 points, as well as Skinner's 14 (eight in the fourth), that proved too much for the Bulldogs.

Senior captain Whitney Wyckoff (West Chester, Ohio) had five assists and six rebounds in the game. Wyckoff and sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) went a combined 4-of-25 from the field on Friday. The duo makes up two of Yale's three leading scorers.

Yale seeks to break its losing streak against Dartmouth on Saturday, with tip scheduled for 6 p.m. in Hanover, N.H. The game can be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity