NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team earned its most lopsided win in nearly a year Saturday afternoon against Dartmouth at Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs led by as many as 27 points and finished with a 17 point edge, 76-59, for the victory. Senior forward
Grace Thybulle led Yale in scoring with 20 points and was one of four Bulldogs who scored 12 or more. Senior guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger was also one of those players, finishing with 12 points and 14 rebounds for a double-double.
Yale (3-21, 2-9 Ivy League) scored only two points in the first 6:32. But once the Bulldogs got going, they really got going. They reeled off 11 points in the final 3:28 of the first – including two three-pointers from first-year guard
Ciniya Moore – to take a 15-12 lead into the second quarter.
Dartmouth (8-16, 2-9 Ivy League) got within one three times in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs answered each time and eventually built a 39-27 lead heading into halftime. They outscored the Big Green 22-12 in the third, then led 69-42 with 6:55 remaining in the game. A late run by Dartmouth trimmed the deficit to 17, but the Big Green would get no closer.
This was Yale's largest margin of victory since a 36 point win (78-42) over Dartmouth Feb. 24, 2024.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
KEY STAT
- Yale had a 26-15 advantage in bench scoring.
NOTES
- This was Yale's highest point total in a game since a 79-72 win vs. Cornell Mar. 1, 2024.
- This was the second time this season Thybulle has reached the 20 point mark, and both times it was against Dartmouth. She scored 22 in Yale's 70-67 win Jan. 20, 2025 in Hanover.
- Yale had four players score 12 or more points.
- Yale tied its season high with 44 rebounds, outrebounding Dartmouth by 14.
- Nine different players scored for Yale.
- Egger's double-double was her ninth of the season.
- Egger was profiled by The Next on Friday in the story "With a clear mind and a new shot, Yale's Mackenzie Egger is the Ivy League's breakout star".
QUOTING DALILA ESHE, YALE'S JOEL E. SMILOW, CLASS OF 1954 HEAD COACH OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- On Thybulle's 20 point, nine-rebound game: "Grace just has a lot of confidence when we play Dartmouth. The matchup is not an easy one. They have two bigs. But she played really physical, and rebounded well, and that got her going."
- On Capstraw, whose 13 points tied for her second-best total of the season: "Even outside of the stats, this was her most confident game. We're seeing Kiley back in her normal light. Across the board, she did a fantastic job."
- On first-year guard Ciniya Moore, who has scored in double digits in back-to-back games: "There were moments through the middle of the season where it felt like she was forcing her offense. Today, she found a good rhythm."
- On the third quarter, when Yale outscored Dartmouth 22-12: "We talked a lot about not letting down. We have had a tendency to start the third quarter slowly, but today we came out dialed in."
- On the bench's contributions: "Our bench did really well. Obviously, they put points on the board, but more importantly when they came in they were ready to go. There was no let-down in the energy."
AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE
- Harvard 60, Brown 57
- Penn 68, Cornell 63
- Columbia at Princeton, 5:30 p.m.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Yale plays at Cornell Friday Feb. 28 at 4:00 p.m.
