The Yale women’s basketball team looks to settle some unfinished business in its rematch against Brown this Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (3-11, 0-1 Ivy) will have to play at the Pizzitola Center in Providence, R.I., the Bears’ (9-5, 1-0) home court. In the match-up between the two teams last Saturday at the John J. Lee Amphitheater, too many errors and too little communication on Yale’s part let Brown break away fast and early and close out with a 65-38 victory.
“I think our performance last Saturday was extremely disappointing and wasn’t a true demonstration of what the Bulldogs are,” Eli forward Lindsay Page ’05 said. “We’re excited that we get to play Brown again. We don’t have to wait until the end of the season to show [the Bears] what the Yale squad is really about.”
The Elis have a lot riding on their next game. Not only do they need this victory to move back into a good starting position in the Ivy League, but the Bulldogs have also yet to win a game on the road this season.
“It’s hard to play on the road when all of your opponents in the Ivies are like your biggest rival. There’s never any love on the court when we play away games,” Eli center Erica Davis ’07 said. “But I feel we can make a difference on the road staring with this next game against Brown.”
While the Yale squad has been preparing for round two, the Bears pulled out another win in their last non-conference match of the season against Navy Tuesday night.
Brown guard Lena McAfee led the game in scoring with a career-high 15 points to aid the Bears in a 64-54 victory over the Mids.
Brown point guard Sarah Hayes posted impressive numbers across the board, tallying 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Bears center Holly Robertson also pulled down 14 rebounds.
The Elis have some impressive numbers of their own that they should be proud of. As of now, the Bulldogs are the top shot blocking (4.50 per game), second-best rebounding (38.6 per game) and third-best free-throw shooting (.731) team in the conference.
Davis has been a dominating force among the Bulldogs, leading Yale in points (12.9 ppg), rebounds (7.4 per game), field goal percentage (.424), blocks (32) and steals (24) this season. Eli point guard Tory Mauseth ’05, who has averaged 10.4 points per game this season, is only nine three-pointers shy of breaking Autumn Braddock’s Yale career record of 157 threes.
Aside from the talent already found in each and every Eli player, the Yale squad still knows not to underestimate its opponents.
“It’s good to get to play Brown again so soon,” Eli forward Alexandra Chen ’08 said. “This week we’ve been able to pinpoint our focus on just one team. We’ve instituted some new plays in our offense and are trying to strengthen our defense as well.”
With such an unconquerable confidence and some new strategies to use on the court, the Bulldogs anticipate a much different game when they enter foreign territory this Saturday afternoon.