NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Twice in the last three seasons the Yale women's basketball team has reached the 19 win mark, a school record. The Bulldogs got win number 19 in dramatic fashion at the end of the 2019-20 season, beating archrival Harvard on a game-winning three in the final minute. It was Mar. 7, 2020. Yale would conclude the season ranked No. 52 nationally in the NCAA's RPI rankings. Twenty months later the Bulldogs bring a renewed sense of appreciation for the game into the 2021-22 campaign, which starts Nov. 9 at Providence. One starter from that 2019-20 squad remains on the roster, and six players who came off the bench are back as well. That core group has been bolstered by the addition of eight players making their Yale debuts this year.
One of Yale's primary goals for 2021-22 will be making the Ivy League Tournament. The tournament takes place at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion this coming March, and the winner earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The top four teams in the regular season standings make the Ivy Tournament -- and the league's preseason media poll, which was released earlier this month, has Yale picked to earn one of those four spots.
Yale is entering its seventh year (sixth season) with
Allison Guth as the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. Assistant coaches
Emma Golen and
John Miller are in their fourth and third seasons with the Bulldogs, respectively, and
Rashana Miller has joined the staff as Director of Women's Basketball Operations this season.
Here is a position-by-position look at the team heading into 2021-22:
Backcourt (two seniors, no juniors, three sophomores, four first years)
Two senior guards provide the Bulldogs with leadership.
Robin Gallagher appeared in a career-high 23 games in 2019-20. She has scoring potential -- as evidenced by her 17 point outburst at Dartmouth in 2019 in which she went 5-for-5 from three-point territory -- and can also distribute the ball. Her single-game high in assists in 2019-20 was four in just 20 minutes in the win at UMass Lowell Classmate
Roxanne Nesbitt has been elected Yale's captain by her teammates, a tribute to her steady presence. After initially making the team as a walk-on she appeared in eight games in 2019-20, scoring the first points of her career.
The Bulldogs are excited about the talent in a trio of sophomore guards.
Klara Astrom appeared in all 27 games her first year, showing the potential to be one of Yale's best shooters. Her season high in points was 13, achieved in just 26 minutes in the win vs. Sacred Heart. During one seven-game stretch she shot .457 from the field (16 for 35).
Jenna Clark showed great leadership in her first year while playing in 25 games, including one start. She had a season-high six rebounds in her Yale debut.
Elles van der Maas spent last year developing her skills, coming off a stellar career in her native Australia. She was a 2018 All-Australian team selection, and she was the second-leading scorer for the Dutch team at the 2018 U16 European Championships.
The first-year class is loaded with guards:
Mackenzie Egger (Mount Pleasant, Mich.),
Avery Lee (Los Altos Hills, Calif.),
Christen McCann (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.). Egger, who can also play forward, was a two-year captain at Mount Pleasant High School and was the fourth player in school history to reach 1,000 points. Her athleticism also showed in volleyball, where she led the team to its first state quarterfinals appearance. Lee was a three-year captain at Menlo School and was tabbed as a Bay Area News Group Player to Watch for two years. She was also a 1,000 point scorer. McCann was a three-year captain at Lincoln Park Academy and was a McDonald's All-American nominee in 2021. She was second team all-state in 2020. McGill was team captain at Providence High School and made the Charlotte Observer all-star team in 2021. She was a two-time all-district pick.
Frontcourt (one senior, one junior, three sophomores, one first year)
Senior
Alex Cade assumes a leadership role as the Bulldogs' longest-tenured player. She is the last player remaining from 2017-18, when she helped the team win the postseason WBI Championship. She appeared in all 27 games in 2019-20, providing a much-needed jolt of energy off the bench. She was fifth on the team in rebounds with 67 while averaging 12.2 minutes per game.
Junior
Camilla Emsbo has steadily developed into one of the best players in the Ivy League, earning second team All-Ivy recognition in 2019-20. She was third in the league in blocks per game (2.3) and tied for third in rebounds per game (8.2). Emsbo averaged 15.0 points per game, the sixth-best figure in the league. At 6-foot-5, she is Yale's tallest player. She spent part of last year playing for the Danish National Team at the EuroBasket Qualifiers.
Three sophomores add depth to the frontcourt.
Ayla Elam has the most experience, having appeared in six games her first year. She scored her first career points in the 2020 win at Brown.
Brenna McDonald and
Haley Sabol both check in at 6-foot-2 and -- having spent last year training at the collegiate level -- can provide a presence down low. Both were team captains in high school. McDonald made the Boston Globe Dream Team in her senior year at Natick High, where she set the career scoring record. Sabol was a first team all-state pick twice at Episcopal High School, where she led the team in scoring and rebounding her last two years.
First year
Grace Thybulle (Irvington, N.Y.) brings skill and size (6-foot-3) to the Bulldogs. She first made Irvington High's varsity team as an eighth grader, and finished her career as a 1,000 point scorer. She was a three-time all-section pick and captained the team senior year.
Schedule
Please visit
Game Day Central for attendance policies at home games. The regular season starts Tuesday Nov. 9 at Providence, with the home opener set for Friday Nov. 12 vs. Northeastern. In addition to 14 Ivy League games -- starting Jan. 2 at Columbia -- the Bulldogs have 13 non-league games.
All told, Yale will play in at least seven different states this season and face teams from at least eight different conferences -- America East, the Atlantic 10, the Big East, the CAA, the Ivy League, the MAAC, the NEC, and the Patriot League.
The Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament features the top four teams in the regular season standings and takes place at Harvard's Lavietes Pavilion in March. The winner of that tournament receives the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
