HANOVER, N.H. – Midway through the third quarter against Dartmouth at Leede Arena Friday night, the Yale women's basketball team found itself trailing an upset-minded Dartmouth team. A three-pointer from Big Green guard Mekenna Boyd at 4:44 gave Dartmouth a 29-28 lead, its first lead since the 8:12 mark of the second quarter. But the Bulldogs responded quickly and emphatically. Two three-pointers in a span of 40 seconds by junior guard
Klara Astrom sparked a 12-0 Yale run that spilled over into the start of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs would eventually build their lead to 17 before finishing with a 57-47 win.
"That was just a case of Klara finding her shot," said
Dalila Eshe, the Bulldogs' Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, of Astrom's game-changing threes. "When she's shooting it with confidence, I feel really good. I'm proud of her."
Yale (7-8, 1-1 Ivy League) led 17-16 at halftime, having held Dartmouth to 23 percent shooting in the first half.
"We went with a really big lineup, and I'm proud of the way they buckled down," said Eshe. "They kept us in the lead at the half even though we had some foul trouble."
But the Big Green, looking to snap a six-game losing streak, kept hanging around as the third quarter wore on. The Bulldogs got their lead to three at four different points in the first 3:33 of the third, but Dartmouth (2-14, 0-2 Ivy League) had a response each time. A 6-2 Big Green run then yielded that brief lead before the Bulldogs finally started pulling away.
Yale recovered nicely after shooting .286 in the first half – the Bulldogs shot .552 in the second.
"We settled down and executed our offense," said Eshe. "We set and used screens and got better shots."
The Bulldogs held Dartmouth to .269 shooting for the game. Only one team, Rhode Island, has held the Big Green to a lower shooting percentage (.267) than that this year.
Yale enjoyed a 26-14 advantage in points in the paint, with sophomore forward
Grace Thybulle contributing eight – her best point total since scoring 16 Nov. 30 at UMass.
"Grace took her time, gathered herself and got herself focused," said Eshe. "She didn't rush anything."
Astrom led Yale in scoring (12 points), while first-year guard
Kiley Capstraw contributed 11 points. Junior guard
Jenna Clark had 10 points and a game-high eight assists. Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill led the Bulldogs in rebounds with eight, with Capstraw chipping in seven.
This is the first Ivy League win for Yale under Eshe. The Bulldogs play at Harvard Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.
Social Media
