AMHERST, Mass. – Entering Wednesday night's game against Yale at the Mullins Center, the UMass women's basketball team was on a roll. Not only had the Minutewomen won five games in a row, they had breached the 95 point mark in the last two. They were among the teams receiving votes in the most recent WBCA national poll. The Bulldogs did all they could to slow UMass down; the second half was an evenly played affair in which UMass scored just one more point than Yale (36-35). But ultimately an early deficit and some hot shooting by the Minutewomen (50 percent) proved too much for the Bulldogs, as UMass came away with a 72-57 win.
Following a late three-pointer by junior guard
Klara Astrom, Yale (4-4, 0-0 Ivy League) trailed 18-13 after one. UMass (7-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10) opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to get the lead to 12, and that would prove to be a turning point in the game. The Bulldogs regrouped but went into halftime down 36-22.
Each team scored 19 points in the third. Sophomore forward
Grace Thybulle scored seven of her 16 points for the night in that frame.
Trailing by as many as 16 early in the fourth, Yale refused to go quietly. A three-pointer by first-year guard
Kiley Capstraw with 1:40 to play capped an 8-2 Yale run that got the Bulldogs within nine, 66-57, with 1:40 to play. But UMass went 6-for-8 from the free throw line after that to close out the win.
Thybulle led the Bulldogs in scoring with 16 points, while Capstraw added 13 and junior guard
Jenna Clark had 10. Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill had another fine all-around game, leading the Bulldogs in rebounds (11) and assists (seven). Thybulle added eight boards, while Clark had six assists and just two turnovers.
The Bulldogs held the Minutewomen more than six points below their season scoring average (78.1 ppg) and allowed UMass only seven more points than No. 5 Tennessee did 20 days earlier.
Yale hosts Syracuse Sunday at noon.
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