NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team is in California for a pair of games prior to Thanksgiving. The Bulldogs play at Pacific Monday (5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets) and at San Francisco Tuesday (4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET,
ESPN+,
Live Stats,
Tickets).
Last Game
Yale (0-4, 0-0 Ivy League) fell at Lehigh 90-75 on Friday night. After trailing by as many as eight in the third quarter, the Bulldogs rallied for a nine-point lead but Lehigh answered to tie the game 60-60 heading into the fourth. The Mountain Hawks outscored Yale 30-15 in the final frame to win.
Bulldogs Among Ivy League Leaders in Blocks
Senior forward
Brenna McDonald (Natick, Mass.), who led the Ivy League in blocked shots per game last year, is tied for second in that category this year with a team-best six blocks in four games (1.50 per game). Junior guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger (Mt. Pleasant, Mich.) is tied for fifth (1.00 per game). Yale as a team is second in the Ivy League in blocked shots per game (3.50).
Bulldogs on the Boards
Yale leads the Ivy League in offensive rebounding, averaging 18.3 per game – 2.3 more than any other team.
Clark Makes Most of Trips to Pennsylvania
Senior point guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Yale's captain, has made the most of Yale's trips to her home state of Pennsylvania this season. She opened with a 19 point, nine-assist, six-rebound effort at Pitt. This past Friday night at Lehigh, she scored a career-high 25 points and added six assists and eight rebounds. Clark was a two-time captain at Thomas Jefferson High, where she set the school record for career assists and earned first team all-state honors in 2018-19. She has led the Ivy League in assists for the last two years – including a school-record 160 in 2021-22.
Astrom Back in California
This trip marks a return to California for senior guard
Klara Astrom (Menlo Park, Calif.). Her immediate family is in the Golden State, though she is originally from Sweden (Stockholm) and still has many relatives there. She is the first in her family to go to college in the United States. Astrom played high school ball at Pinewood School, where she captained the team as a junior and senior. The Bulldogs will practice at Pinewood Saturday afternoon.
McDonald and McGill Near Double-Doubles
Senior forward
Brenna McDonald (Natick, Mass.) and junior guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) are nearly averaging double-doubles. Both are averaging 8.0 rebounds per game, and McGill is at 8.8 points per game while McDonald is at 8.0. McDonald's season high in points is 10, and her season high in rebounds is 11. McGill's season high in points is 16 and her season high in rebounds is 11.
Road Warriors
Yale is in the midst of a stretch in which the Bulldogs play six of eight games on the road. This is the Bulldogs' first trip to California since November of 2019, when they beat Fresno State and LMU at the LMU Thanksgiving Classic en route to tying the school record with 19 wins that year.
Remember Us?
While in California the Bulldogs plan to attend the Stanford-Duke game on Sunday. Blue Devils forward
Camilla Emsbo '23 played for Yale, where she was a unanimous first team All-Ivy League selection in 2021-22 and captained the team last season. She is now playing as a grad transfer and is averaging 6.5 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game for the Blue Devils.
Scouting Pacific
Pacific (2-1, 0-0 WCC), which has made five WNIT appearances in nine seasons under head coach Bradley Davis, was picked tied for third in the WCC Preseason Poll – behind Gonzaga and defending champion Portland. Guard Liz Smith, an All-WCC Preseason pick, leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game and assists with 18. She is one of four Tigers with a scoring average in double digits.
Scouting San Francisco
San Francisco (1-3, 0-0 WCC) earned a spot in the WNIT for the third straight year last season, finishing 19-13. The Dons were picked seventh in the WCC Preseason Poll. Guard Jasmine Gayles leads the team in scoring, averaging 21.0 points per game, and is second on the team in assists with 13.
Social Media
