NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A raucous atmosphere, a back-and-forth battle with an Ivy League rival -- Saturday's game vs. Harvard felt like the start of Ivy Madness for the Yale women's basketball team. And in many ways it was. Having clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament the night before with a win vs. Dartmouth, the Bulldogs still needed to pick up a win Saturday to ensure the best seed possible for the tourney. And the chance to beat their archrival only added to the sense of urgency. In the end the Bulldogs thrilled the crowd at Lee Amphitheater on Senior Night by overcoming a late Harvard lead. Junior guard
Ellen Margaret Andrews' three-pointer in the final minute proved decisive in the 60-58 victory.
Yale (19-8, 9-5 Ivy League) entered the night knowing that a win would solidify the Bulldogs as the No. 3 seed in the tournament -- but there was plenty more at stake. This was the last regular season home game for Yale's Class of 2020: guard
Roxy Barahman, forward
Megan Gorman and center
Jessica Lezon. Those three were honored before the game, and the game itself began with a special moment. Lezon has missed most of the last three seasons due to injury but has persevered, finding ways to contribute off the court and as a constant source of support from the bench. On Saturday she earned the start and the chance to take the opening tipoff. As the teams had arranged, she won the tip and then committed a violation to stop the clock and give her a chance to come off the court to an ovation and hugs from her coaches and teammates.
With that emotional start to the game behind them, the Bulldogs then went out and began building towards a victory. They outscored the Crimson 21-8 in the second quarter, ending on a 16-4 run that gave them a 34-28 lead at halftime. Barahman had 13 points by halftime en route to 20 for the game. The Bulldogs also benefitted from the defensive presence of sophomore forward
Camilla Emsbo, who had three blocks in the first half to get to 62 for the season, one away from the Yale record set by
Erica Davis '07 in 2007.
Harvard (15-12, 6-8 Ivy), which had been eliminated from Ivy League Tournament contention the night before, eventually fought back. The Crimson tied the game 43-43 late in the third, setting the stage for a dramatic fourth quarter in which neither team led by more than four points at any time. After a layup by Emsbo gave Yale a 57-54 lead with 2:55 to play, Harvard got a jumper from forward Jeannie Boehm and a pair of free throws from guard/forward Rachel Levy to go up 58-57 with 35 seconds left.
That was the prelude to Andrews' heroics. Barahman got the play started, inbounding the ball from the sideline and getting it back. She drove baseline before kicking it to an open Andrews in the corner, right in front of the Yale bench. She swished the shot, touching off a wild celebration.
Yale's defense then rose to the occasion in the final seconds, forcing Levy to try a long-range three that missed. The Crimson got the ball back, but a heavily contested jumper by guard Lola Mullaney hit the front of the rim to end the final Harvard threat.
In addition to Barahman's 20 points, five assists and three steals, Yale also got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Emsbo. That was her ninth double-double of the year.
As is tradition, Yale's alums -- back for Alumnae Weekend -- joined in the celebration. The win also marked a fitting tribute to Barahman, Gorman and Lezon, who have helped the program make much progress in a short span of time. They were the first recruits for
Allison Guth, who took over as Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball for the 2015-16 season.
"Tonight's win was all about our senior leadership," said Guth. "We did it for our seniors. It also means so much because we did it in front of so many of our alums."
The 2017-18 squad that the seniors were a part of now has company for the school wins record at 19. The 2019-20 Bulldogs will head to Lavietes Pavilion with a chance to break that record in an Ivy League semifinal game against the No. 2 seed, Penn, on Friday Mar. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
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