NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team continues to battle for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Still within striking distance of the fourth and final tournament berth, the Bulldogs delivered a much-needed 79-72 win over Cornell Friday afternoon at Lee Amphitheater. That was a season high in points for the Bulldogs, who never trailed in the game.
Yale jumped out to an 18-11 lead by the end of the first quarter. Cornell (7-17, 1-11 Ivy League) closed to within one heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs started that quarter with a 12-3 run and never looked back.
Yale (8-17, 5-7 Ivy League) was led by double-doubles from senior forward
Brenna McDonald (15 points, 12 rebounds) and junior guard
Nyla McGill (19 points, 16 rebounds).
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Senior guard Jenna Clark led Yale with 23 points and nine assists. McGill added 19 points, a team-best 16 rebounds and a team-best +11. Those were season highs in points and rebounds for her. McDonald had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
KEY STAT
- Yale shot .529 from the field in the fourth quarter, outscoring Cornell 29-23.
QUOTES FROM COACH ESHE
- "Nyla was a phenomenal rebounder today. When she is a monster on the boards, it translates to her offense. Cornell could not figure out a way to box her out."
- "Brenna has gotten herself to the point where she is an incredible impact player. Even on an off night, she can get a double-double."
- "The Cornell game is always going to be a tough, physical game. When they got within one, we had to dial ourselves back in, and we did."
- "Jenna made some of her 'miraculous Jenna shots' early, including a three that looked like it was from the logo. Then she started to take over the game in the segments where we really needed her. She also did a great job setting up her teammates with those nine assists."
NOTES
- The 79 points were a season high for Yale – one more than their previous season high, set last Saturday in a win at Dartmouth.
- Yale tied its season high with 46 rebounds.
- Clark now has 970 career points. She has 155 assists this season, five away from her own school single-season record (set in 2021-22).
- This was McDonald's fourth double-double and McGill's third.
- Yale has won eight in a row against Cornell.
- With the win, Yale moves into a tie with Brown (who lost to Columbia) for fifth place in the Ivy League standings. The two teams are one game behind fourth-place Penn, who plays at Princeton Saturday. Brown hosts Cornell.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale hosts Columbia Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
