March 1, 2008
PHILADELPHIA--For a team that went two whole seasons without winning a conference road game, the Yale women's basketball team is certainly making up for lost time. The Bulldogs (8-16, 6-5 Ivy) rallied for 44 points in the second half to overcome a 36-35 halftime deficit and post a 79-70 victory over Penn (4-21, 1-9 Ivy) Friday night at The Palestra. It was Yale's third Ivy road win of the season, the team's most since the 2000-01 campaign.
The Quakers made back-to-back three-pointers to start the game and led 10-2 just 4:41 into the contest. After pulling within 12-7, the Bulldogs went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for the first time, 13-12.
The teams traded runs for the remainder of the first half. Yale built a 23-19 lead only to see Penn rattle off 10 straight points to take a 29-23 advantage. Then the Bulldogs went on a 12-4 run to pull back in front, 35-33, with 2:09 left in the half. Sarah Bucar's trey with 1:39 remaining marked the sixth and final lead change of the half and gave the Quakers a 36-35 edge after 20 minutes.
Kelly Scott opened the second half with a three-pointer that ran Penn's lead to four before the Bulldogs charged back to tie it at 39-39. The Quakers scored the next four points to go up 43-39 before Yale scored five straight to pull in front, 44-43. After a Jerin Smith layup tied the score at 51-51, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to take control. Melissa Colborne started the rally with a layup, then drained a three. Stephanie Marciano capped the run with a three-pointer that made it 59-51 with 8:08 remaining.
Penn countered with a 7-2 rally to pull within three at 61-58, but the Bulldogs responded with an 8-2 run to open up a 69-60 advantage with 3:32 to go. The Quakers got within five, but would pull no closer. Yale scored five straight points at the free throw line to run its lead to a game-high 10 points, 74-64, with 1:06 left. The Bulldogs outscored the Quakers 44-22 in the paint and snapped a four-game losing streak against Penn with a 79-70 victory.
"We finally got after them defensively at the end and made them rush," Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach Chris Gobrecht said. "We played their game except for the stretch."
Colborne tallied 20-plus points for the third straight game, posting a game-high 22 to go along with six rebounds. Haywood Wright added 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Lindsey Williams chipped in with 11 points and Mady Gobrecht dished out seven assists. Ashley Carter had a career-high 10 points and six boards, as Yale outrebounded Penn 39-26, including a 13-3 edge on the offensive glass. The Bulldogs shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the field, including 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half, and 20 percent (3-of-15) from three-point land. Yale shot 62.5 percent (20-of-32) at the free throw line.
Kim Adams led the Quakers with 18 points. Carrie Biemer posted 13 points, while Bucar tallied four rebounds and four assists. Caitlin Slover and Amy Donovan each finished with five assists, and Slover added three steals. The Quakers shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field, including 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from behind the arc, and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the charity stripe.
Despite the victory, Yale was eliminated from contention for the Ivy League title. The Bulldogs are three games behind Harvard and Cornell with three remaining. However, the Crimson and Big Red, who are both 9-2 in conference play, meet Saturday in Cambridge. The Bulldogs visit Princeton (6-20, 3-7 Ivy), a 67-59 winner over Brown, at 6 p.m. on Saturday in their final road game of the season. Yale posted a 78-57 victory when the teams met in New Haven on Feb. 15.
NOTES: Yale played on "Leap Day" for the second time in program history...In 1992, the Bulldogs beat the Quakers 71-64 at the John J. Lee Amphitheater...Yale has won six Ivy games for the first time since 2001-02...The Bulldogs have trailed at the half in all six of their Ivy League road games, only to come back and win three times...Yale missed its first 10 three-point attempts before making three of its final five...Carter's previous career-high was five points against Stony Brook on Dec. 7...Yale won at The Palestra for the first time since a 74-64 overtime victory on Feb. 19, 2005...Penn leads the all-time series 34-30.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity