ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger hit the go-ahead jumper with nine seconds left, then hit two critical free throws with three seconds left, as the Yale women's basketball team rallied for a 48-46 win over Cornell Friday at Newman Arena. The Bulldogs overcame an 11 point deficit for the victory.
Yale (4-21, 3-9 Ivy League) fell behind 4-0 early but rallied to take the lead on a pair of three-pointers by senior guard
Avery Lee. The game was tied 10-10 after the first quarter.
Cornell (7-18, 3-9 Ivy League) surged ahead by as many as 10 in the second quarter before a late Bulldog run cut the lead to six, 25-19, heading into halftime.
Cornell got the lead up to 11 at one point in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs closed to within 40-34 heading into the fourth quarter. Lee hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds.
The Bulldogs chipped away at the lead throughout the fourth quarter and eventually got it down to two, but missed a chance to tie the game with 2:24 to play. After Cornell went up 45-42, a layup by sophomore forward
Ana Guillen with 1:51 to play pulled Yale within one.
A defensive rebound by senior forward
Grace Thybulle created the critical possession for Yale with 27 seconds left. Coming out of a timeout, the Bulldogs set up Egger for a pull-up jump shot that took a tantalizing roll and bounced on the rim before falling through the net, touching off a wild celebration by the Yale bench.
Cornell then threw an inbounds pass out of bounds to give the ball back to Yale. The Big Red then fouled the Bulldogs five times after inbounds passes, eventually sending Egger to the free throw line with three seconds left. After a video review Egger was also charged with a foul, so after she sank two free throws Cornell's Summer Parker-Hall got two free throws of her own. She hit one of two, and the Big Red inbounded the ball in their frontcourt with three seconds left. Facing a swarming Yale defense, Cornell was unable to get off a potential game-tying shot before time ran out.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
- Senior guard/forward Mackenzie Egger had a game-high 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
KEY STAT
- Yale had a 38-32 advantage in rebounding.
NOTES
- Egger's double-double was her 10th of the season.
- Senior guard Avery Lee scored 11 points – one shy of her career high. She added six rebounds – one shy of her career high – and four assists.
QUOTING DALILA ESHE, YALE'S JOEL E. SMILOW, CLASS OF 1954 HEAD COACH OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- On outscoring Cornell 14-6 in the fourth quarter: "At the end of the game it was grit. We didn't turn the ball over. We got more composed with our zone offense. There was a segment where [Cornell] was getting easy looks. We said 'There's 4:30 left, we have got to defend.' This win is an incredible testament to our team."
- On Egger's go-ahead basket with nine seconds left: "We put in a couple different quicks. We know that Mac is a gamer, that she would want the pressure. We had this sneak action she could run on the back end. As the play developed, I could see her eyes and her level of focus. She wasn't going to miss that shot."
- On Lee's 11 point, six-rebound game: "Ave's confidence has been growing and growing. Her three ball has looked really good, and that's one of the best ways to beat a zone."
- On overcoming an 11 point deficit to win: "When I came into the locker room after the game, the first thing I said was 'Tell me how long we led that basketball game for'. [It was one minute and 43 seconds.] This has been an incredibly hard season. To stay the course and trust the process is a testament to this team. We're starting to see the pieces come together. We have gotten significantly better in the last month. It's gratifying for our seniors but also significant for our younger players."
AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE
- Columbia 70, Brown 44
- Penn at Dartmouth, 8:00 p.m.
- Princeton at Harvard, 8:00 p.m.
WHAT'S NEXT
Yale plays at Columbia Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
