NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team outscored Bryant 38-19 in the second half Wednesday at John J. Lee Amphitheater en route to securing a 61-48 win. This was the Bulldogs' largest margin of victory since a 76-59 win vs. Dartmouth Feb. 22, 2025.
Belying the final score, Bryant led for more than 23 minutes. The visitors overcame an early 6-5 Yale lead and took a 14-12 lead into the second quarter. Bryant extended that lead to as many as 13 in the second, but a late Yale rally closed the visitors' lead to just 29-23 at halftime.
Yale continued chipping away at the lead as the third quarter wore on, closing to within 34-33 on a layup by junior forward
Luisa Vydrova at the 5:04 mark. Bryant led 38-36 when sophomore guard
Ciniya Moore drained a corner three for the lead with 1:37 left in the quarter, and from that point Yale never looked back. After Bryant got within one (43-42) at 8:09 of the fourth, Yale went on a 13-0 run that included at least two points from five different players and effectively put the game out of reach.
Yale improves to 2-7 (0-0 Ivy League) while Bryant falls to 7-2 (0-0 America East).
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Sophomore guard Ciniya Moore led Yale in points with 22.
- First-year forward Dorka Kastl led Yale in rebounds with nine, blocks with six and steals with four.
- Senior forward Kiley Capstraw led Yale in assists with six.
KEY STAT
- Yale limited Bryant to .212 (7-for-33) shooting in the second half.
NOTES
- Yale held Bryant to its lowest point total since Mar. 10, 2025 (a 62-45 loss to Vermont).
- Bryant had won last year's meeting, 67-52.
- Junior forward Luisa Vydrova added 15 points and sophomore guard Marisa Chapman added 12.
- That was a career high (tie) in points for Moore.
- This was the second time in three games that Yale has blocked nine shots.
- Kastl's six blocks were the most in a game by a Yale player since Camilla Emsbo '23 blocked six against Army West Point Dec. 28, 2021. This was her fourth straight game with four or more blocks, and her second straight game with four steals.
- In addition to Kastl's nine, Yale had two other players with six or more rebounds each: Capstraw (eight) and Chapman (six).
QUOTING DALILA ESHE, YALE'S JOEL E. SMILOW '54 HEAD COACH OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- On what made the difference in the second half: "Offensively, we started sharing the basketball and not wasting our time dribbling. We had five assists in the first half and finished with 15, so we had 10 assists in the second half. We were moving the ball more."
- On Moore's three-pointer at 1:37 of the third that gave Yale the lead for good: "Our biggest area of growth is that we had been getting gassed in the third and fourth quarters. That three was huge. We shot at such a high clip, and we closed out a game as competitors do."
- On the team's growth: "We have so many offensive weapons. We have a lot of players with a high IQ who are interested in getting the best shot. Even in the Penn State game [a loss on Sunday], we had 17 assists. We are a team that has gelled and enjoys playing together."
UP NEXT
- Yale plays at Rider Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
