NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team hosts Syracuse Sunday (12:00 p.m.,
NESN,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets). It is Yale's first home game since Nov. 14, and the first time these teams have met since Nov. 21, 2004.
Last Game
Yale (4-4, 0-0 Ivy League) fell behind by 12 in the second quarter at UMass Wednesday, and that deficit ultimately proved too much to overcome. The Bulldogs got within nine with 1:40 to play, but the Minutewomen went 6-for-8 from the free throw line after that for a
72-57 win. Sophomore forward
Grace Thybulle (Irvington, N.Y.) led Yale with 16 points.
Jenna Clark.
Photo by Camilla Emsbo.
Clark Leads Ivy League
Junior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) leads the Ivy League in assists per game (5.4). She has had at least five assists in every game except one this season, and had a season-high 10 in the opener at Fordham. Clark is on the
Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in the country.
Two of the Best
Yale has two players ranked among the top eight in the Ivy League in steals per game. Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) is sixth (2.12 steals per game) and junior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is eighth (1.88 steals per game). Yale as a team is second in the league in steals per game, averaging 9.8.
Playing the Percentages
Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) is shooting .591 (25-for-44). The only player in Yale history to finish the season with a better shooting percentage than that was
Debbie Danner '82 (.607 in 1979-80).
Heading to the Line
Yale is averaging 19.12 free throw attempts per game – the second-most in the Ivy League. The Bulldogs' 39 free throw attempts against New Mexico Nov. 25 were their most in a game since at least the 2013-14 season. First-year
Kiley Capstraw (West Orange, N.J.) is shooting a team-best .870 from the line (20 for 23). She is No. 2 in the Ivy League in that category, trailing only Harvard's Harmoni Turner (.879).
Promos
Sunday's game is Yale Police Department Community Day and the Toys for Tots Teddy Toss.
Bulldogs Busy Right Before Break
Sunday starts a stretch of four games in 10 days for Yale. After the game on Tuesday Dec. 13 vs. BU, the Bulldogs will play just once in a span of 17 days.
Long Time, No See
Yale and Syracuse have not played since splitting a pair of games in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. The Bulldogs won 70-54 at Syracuse Jan. 5, 2004 and the Orange won the rematch, 65-61, in New Haven on Nov. 21, 2004.
Strength of Schedule
Syracuse is one of four teams on Yale's schedule currently ranked in the top 50 at RealTimeRPI.com. The list:
- No. 36 Columbia
- No. 41 Saint Joseph's
- No. 42 UMass
- No. 50 Syracuse
Last Time Against the ACC
Yale's last game against an ACC opponent was a
66-63 win at UNC Dec. 28, 2019.
Ellen Margaret Andrews '20 led Yale with 24 points. The Bulldogs limited the Tar Heels to 29.5% shooting.
Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse (5-2, 0-0 ACC) opened the season 4-0 but has dropped two of its last three, at Penn State and at Purdue. The Orange are in their first season under Felisha Legette-Jack, a 1989 Syracuse grad and All-American. They rank No. 14 nationally in rebounds per game (45.71) and No. 18 nationally in blocks per game (5.4).
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