NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Yale women's basketball team spent most of Sunday afternoon at Lawler Arena playing catchup after falling behind early against Merrimack. And while the Bulldogs rallied from an 11 point deficit and took the lead briefly in the second quarter, they could not sustain that momentum. After falling behind by 12 in the fourth quarter they rallied to get within five with 1:10 to play before Merrimack eventually pulled away for an 84-73 win.
Playing their third game in six days, the Bulldogs got off to a slow start. They shot just .222 in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 11 in the second quarter. But the Bulldogs fought back and were eventually able to tie the game 33-33 on a three-pointer by sophomore guard
Lola Lesmond with 3:53 left in the first half. Yale then went ahead 35-33 on a jumper by senior guard
Jenna Clark. The Warriors scored the final 11 points of the quarter, though, and went into the break up 44-35.
Foul trouble plagued two of the Bulldogs' forwards in the second half. Junior guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger picked up her fourth foul with 2:32 left in the third. Junior forward
Grace Thybulle fouled out with 5:13 left in the game.
Yale (2-7, 0-0 Ivy League) closed within two in the third before Merrimack (3-6, 0-0 NEC) hit a pair of three-pointers late to take a 61-53 lead into the fourth. The Warriors got their lead up to 12 in the fourth before a three-pointer from Lesmond – her fourth of the game – with 7:20 to play.
Down by nine with 2:17 left, junior guard
Nyla McGill hit a layup. Sophomore guard
Kiley Capstraw then set up Egger for a layup that pulled Yale within five, 76-71, with 1:38 left. After the teams traded baskets, McGill rebounded a missed Warrior free throw and Yale set up on offense with 53.7 seconds left. But the Bulldogs missed their chance to make it a one-possession game, and Merrimack hit six free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the win.
Capstraw led Yale in scoring (17 points), while Clark added 16 points and a team-best eight assists and four steals.
Notes
- For the third straight game and fifth time this season, Yale outrebounded its opponent.
- Clark and junior forward Grace Thybulle tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
- Capstraw and Clark are now neck-and-neck for the team lead in scoring, with both totaling 122 points through nine games (13.6 points per game).
- This was the first of three straight games against Ivy League schools for Merrimack. The Warriors host Penn next Friday and Dartmouth next Sunday.
Up Next
- Yale visits Stony Brook Wednesday for a 1:00 p.m. game.
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