NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The longest in-season break for the Yale women's basketball team comes to an end Thursday, as the Bulldogs host St. John's Thursday (12:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets). It is Yale's first game since Dec. 9, ending a stretch of 11 straight days without a game.
Last Game
Yale (2-9, 0-0 Ivy League) fell to Providence 63-58 on Dec. 9 at Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as nine in the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to two with 29 seconds left before the Friars sealed the win. Senior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 23 points and seven assists.
Close But Not Enough
In seven of Yale's nine losses this season the Bulldogs have been within five points of their opponent, or had a lead, in the fourth quarter. Here is a breakdown of how close the Bulldogs have been in each of those seven games:
| Game |
Deficit/Lead in 4th |
Final |
| Nov. 7 at Pitt |
Trailed by 2 with 1:14 left |
Lost 79-74 |
| Nov. 14 at BU |
Trailed by 4 with 6:24 left |
Lost 60-53 |
| Nov. 17 at Lehigh |
Trailed by 2 with 7:49 left |
Lost 90-75 |
| Nov. 20 at Pacific |
Led by 8 with 8:45 left |
Lost 66-59 |
| Dec. 3 at Merrimack |
Trailed by 5 with 1:38 left |
Lost 84-73 |
| Dec. 6 at Stony Brook |
Trailed by 3 with 8:12 left |
Lost 81-66 |
| Dec. 9 vs. Providence |
Trailed by 2 with :23 left |
Lost 63-58 |
Bulldogs Among Ivy's Best
Yale is near the top of the Ivy League in these categories as a team:
- Offensive rebounding, 2nd, 14.5 per game
- Steals, t-2nd, 8.3 per game
- Turnover margin, 2nd, 2.27 per game
Clark Among Ivy and National Leaders
Senior point guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Yale's captain, is among the Ivy League and NCAA top 12 in multiple categories:
- 37.22 minutes per game – 2nd in Ivy League, eighth nationally
- 6.7 assists per game – 1st in Ivy League, 10th nationally
- 74 assists – 1st in Ivy League, 11th nationally
- 2.11 assist/turnover ratio – 1st in Ivy League
- 168 field goal attempts – 2nd in Ivy League
- 74 three-point attempts – 4th in Ivy League
- .297 three-point percentage – 4th in Ivy League
- 22 three pointers – 4th in Ivy League
- 2.0 three pointers per game – 4th in Ivy League
- 171 points – 5th in Ivy League
- 15.5 points per game – 8th in Ivy League
Clark has led the Ivy League in assists for the last two years.
Clark Moving Up in Yale Record Books
With 392 career assists, senior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is three away from moving into a tie for second place on Yale's career assists list with
Regina Sullivan '83 (395 career assists).
Kathleen Offer '96 is Yale's career assists leader with 546. Clark holds the Yale single-season assists record with 160, set in 2021-22. She also has the fourth-best single season assists total, 145 (2022-23).
A Talented Trio on the Boards
Yale is the only Ivy League team other than Penn with three players among the league's top 16 in rebounding. Junior guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) is fifth (7.0 rebounds per game), senior forward
Brenna McDonald (Natick, Mass.) is 10th (5.9 rebounds per game) and senior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is 16th (5.3 rebounds per game). Clark and McGill stand out in that they are two of just three players in the top 16 who are 5-foot-8 or shorter. McGill is 5-foot-8, Clark is 5-foot-7 and Dartmouth's Nina Minicozzi (5.7 rebounds per game, 12th) is 5-foot-8.
Capstraw, McGill Scoring More
Sophomore guard
Kiley Capstraw (West Orange, N.J.) has upped her scoring average from 9.2 points per game last year to 13.4 points per game this year (second on the team). Junior guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) has improved her scoring average from 7.9 points per game last year to 9.3 points per game this year (third on the team).
McGill Stays Defensive
Junior guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.), who was Ivy League Co-Defensive Player of the Year last year, is tied for fourth in the league in steals per game this year (2.0). Last year she ranked second in that category, averaging 2.6 steals per game.
McDonald Among League's Best Shooters and Blockers
Senior forward
Brenna McDonald (Natick, Mass.) ranks third in the Ivy League in shooting percentage (.493) and is tied for third in blocked shots per game (1.4).
Lesmond Heating Up
Sophomore guard
Lola Lesmond (Sanary, France), who missed all but one game of her first season, has shot .750 (six for eight) from three-point territory over the last four games. She had been zero for eight in the first four games.
Home for the Holidays
Yale is in the midst of a stretch of 30 straight days without a road game. The Bulldogs last played on the road Dec. 6 at Stony Brook, and next play on the road Jan. 6 when they start Ivy League play at Harvard.
Strength of Schedule
Seven of Yale's non-conference opponents won 18 or more games last season – including this Thursday's opponent, St. John's (23-9 last year).
Scouting St. John's
St. John's (6-6, 1-0 Big East), is coming off a 51-46 win vs. Villanova in the Big East opener this past Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm has won four of its last five games, holding four of those opponents to 49 or fewer points.
Social Media
