NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Fueled by a deep offensive performance that saw six players score eight or more points, the Yale women's basketball team overcame a 28-25 halftime deficit to rally for a 69-56 win vs. Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Lee Amphitheater. Junior guard
Jenna Clark was one rebound away from a triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill had her second double-double of the weekend, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Yale (11-11, 5-4 Ivy League) overcame that three-point halftime deficit in dramatic fashion, outscoring Dartmouth (2-21, 0-9 Ivy League) 28-17 in the third quarter.
"What set the tone was coming out in the second half with the press," said
Dalila Eshe, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "That ramped up our level of defensive intensity."
The Bulldogs wound up holding Dartmouth to 34.5 percent shooting for the game, the sixth time this season Yale has held an opponent to a shooting percentage that low.
On the offensive end Yale was eventually able to succeed against a tough Big Green defense, shooting .454 in the second half after being held to a .294 performance in the first. First-year guard
Kiley Capstraw and sophomore guard
Mackenzie Egger led the way with 12 points each, followed by Clark, McGill, junior forward
Brenna McDonald (nine points) and sophomore guard
Christen McCann (eight points).
"They were really patient offensively," said Eshe of her squad. "They let the play work through, so they could see what we were trying to get out of it."
McDonald's nine points represented a career high, capping a weekend in which she earned her first two career starts. She blocked four shots in each game, the most by any Bulldog this year.
"She's just really consistent and has a good basketball IQ," said Eshe. "The previous formula wasn't working [Yale entered the weekend having lost two in a row], so we said let's try something different. She has taken advantage of her opportunity."
McDonald's 5-for-6 performance at the free throw line, which was matched by Clark, was a big reason why Yale shot .846 (11 for 13) on free throws – the Bulldogs' best performance among games this season in which they had more than four free throw attempts.
"Huge. Huge," said Eshe of the Bulldogs' free throw shooting. "We harp on it all the time, and it's something we talk about before every game. We let the players know the numbers. Our ultimate goal is to get to 70 percent or better for the season. Our players did an excellent job locking in at the free throw line."
McGill's 12 rebounds (and four steals) come a night after she hauled in 20 rebounds – four shy of the school single-game record. She ranks second in the Ivy League in rebounding, averaging 9.0 per game. She has six double-doubles this year.
"She just has an unbelievable motor," said Eshe. "Even when she's incredibly exhausted and they're all over her, it's all about heart to go get that rebound."
This was the Bulldogs' Pink Game for breast cancer awareness, and they wore new uniforms as part of the event. A large and boisterous crowd utilized pink pom poms, the day's giveaway, to help cheer Yale on to victory.
The win helps Yale remain within striking distance of all of the league's top teams in the standings. Princeton's win at Columbia and Harvard's win at Brown Saturday created a three-way tie for first at 7-2 in league games. Penn, which won at Cornell, sits in fourth at 6-3 while Yale is fifth at 5-4. The Bulldogs visit Columbia next Saturday at noon.
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