NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Two Ivy League games in three days – against teams with double-digit win totals this season – are up next for the Yale women's basketball team on MLK Weekend. The Buldogs host Brown Saturday (2:00 p.m.,
NESN+,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets) and then head to New York to take on Columbia Monday
(2:00 p.m., SNY, ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets).
Last Game
Yale (3-11, 0-1 Ivy League) fell to Harvard 73-54 in the Ivy League opener last Saturday at Lavietes Pavilion. The Bulldogs played close with the Crimson during the final three quarters – they were outscored just 49-45 in those frames – but Harvard's 24-9 lead at the end of the first quarter proved to be too much to overcome.
Free Throw Success
Yale's .833 (15-for-18) performance at the free throw line at Harvard this past Saturday was its best in a game (minimum 10 attempts) since shooting .846 (11-for-13) in a
69-56 win vs. Dartmouth Feb. 4, 2023.
Career Game for Thybulle
Junior forward
Grace Thybulle (Irvington, N.Y.) scored a career-high 18 points Saturday at Harvard. Her previous high was 16, set Nov. 30, 2022 at UMass. Thybulle has scored in double digits five times this season. On Saturday she shot .538 on a season-high 13 shot attempts. She added six rebounds and committed only one foul.
Bulldogs Among the Best on the Offensive Boards
Yale is second in the Ivy League and 63rd in the nation in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.9 offensive boards per game.
Clark Among Ivy and National Leaders
Senior point guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Yale's captain, is among the NCAA top 18 and/or Ivy League top three in multiple categories:
- 6.2 assists per game – 1st in Ivy League, 15th nationally
- 87 assists – 1st in Ivy League, 18th nationally
- 35.28 minutes per game – 2nd in Ivy League
- 2.02 assist/turnover ratio – 2nd in Ivy League
- 194 field goal attempts – 3rd in Ivy League
Clark has led the Ivy League in assists for the last two years.
Big News
Yale (6-foot-3 senior forward
Brenna McDonald (Natick, Mass.) and 6-foot-3 junior forward
Grace Thybulle (Irvington, N.Y.)) and Dartmouth (6-foot-4 forward Doreen Ariik and 6-foot-3 forward Clare Meyer) were the only Ivy League teams to start two players 6-foot-3 or taller last weekend.
Egger Excels Against Brown
Last season, junior guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) played some of her best basketball against Yale's opponent this Saturday – Brown. She averaged a team-best 18.0 points per game in the two games, including a career-high 24 points in Yale's
72-59 win at the Pizzitola Center Jan. 16, 2023. She averaged 7.0 rebounds in those two games, second only to senior guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) (7.5 rebounds per game). Egger shot .560 from the field against the Bears.
A Look Back
Yale swept Brown last season and has won seven in a row in the series. The Bulldogs have won the last three by double digits, including a
63-53 win in the most recent game – Mar. 4, 2023 at Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs have scored at least 63 points, and as many as 84, against the Bears in each of the last seven meetings.
Ancient Eight Schedule
Once known for a league schedule that typically included six weekends of back-to-back league games on Fridays and Saturdays, in recent years the Ivy League has shifted its scheduling model. The conference season moved from an eight-week to a 10-week schedule, with the new format debuting in 2021-22. It consists of six one-opponent weekends and three of the league's signature Friday and Saturday back-to-back weekends. Each team also has a contest on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.
Scouting Brown
Brown (10-4, 1-0 Ivy League) opened Ivy League play with a 65-39 win at Dartmouth last Saturday. The Bears limited Dartmouth to a .327 shooting percentage; they lead the Ivy League in field goal percentage defense for the season (.379). Brown, in its fourth year under head coach Monique LeBlanc, was the only Ivy team to start three sophomores this past weekend as league play began.
Scouting Columbia
Columbia (10-4, 1-0 Ivy League) has won eight in a row entering Saturday's game vs. Cornell. The Lions lead the Ivy League in multiple categories, including:
- Assist/turnover ratio (1.12)
- Assists per game (17.7)
- Bench points per game (21.4)
- Field goal percentage (.442)
- Rebound margin (5.4)
- Offensive rebounds per game (14.4)
- Rebounds per game (39.29)
- Scoring margin (10.4)
- Scoring offense (76.2)
- Three-point attempts per game (26.2)
- Three pointers per game (8.3)
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