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The Bulldogs’ three-game winning streak came to an end two weekends ago, as the Yale women’s basketball team (5–2, 0–0 Ivy) fell narrowly to the University of Maine (2–5, 0–0 America East) and were defeated by St. John’s (3–4, 0–0 Big East).

The Eli defense had room for improvement in a weekend where they allowed a total of 38 turnovers. The Bulldogs hosted the Maine Black Bears on Friday, Nov. 19 and lost 44–47. On Sunday, they traveled to New York to compete against the St. John’s Red Storm, losing 68–86. These match-ups were Yale’s first losses of the season. However, the team showed a noticeable improvement in its overall offensive performance, shooting .392 from the floor in the two games. Many players also made their scoring debuts.

“The beauty of our team this year is that we take losses as opportunities to learn,” guard and captain Roxanne Nesbitt ’22 told the News. “We always support one another despite the outcomes of the games. We look to be constructive whether we win or lose.” 

The game against the Black Bears was thrilling from the start. Though the Bulldogs took an early 13–6 lead, Maine was unfazed and responded with a rapid 8–2 scoring run. The Bears proceeded to trade baskets relentlessly against Yale, scoring the same number of points as the Elis in the second and third quarters. The Black Bears took the lead a minute into the final quarter, where the Bulldogs shot poorly. After failing to take advantage of two offensive possessions, Yale found itself behind Maine by a mere three points.

“Maine was definitely a tough loss for our team because we didn’t play like ourselves,” Nesbitt said. “We had some offensive and defensive deficiencies that Maine was able to take advantage of since they are a well-disciplined team.”

Though Yale only shot 2–9 in the fourth quarter and allowed 15 turnovers in the game, the squad’s overall offensive performance improved slightly in comparison to their previous match against Sacred Heart. Yale shot 18–54 from the field against Maine and 20–64 against the Pioneers. The Bulldogs carried this offensive momentum into the next game, where they had a then-season best .439 shooting percentage. 

“Against St. John’s, we actually picked up our offens[ive] play and made some positive strides,” guard Elles van der Maas ’24 said in an interview with the News. “St. John’s was just shooting the lights out and hit a bunch of threes on us. So although we lost, there were some super exciting positives for the team.”

Both teams were fired up as they entered the game. They were evenly-matched in the first quarter, tying the score 19–19. However, St. John’s began an offensive surge in the second quarter, outscoring Yale 28–15, and never looked back. The Red Storm had a .478 shooting percentage and were 33–69 from the field.

Yale gave a strong offensive performance as well — the team went 29–66 from the field and 8–29 from beyond the three-point arc. They were also aggressive at the rim and managed to get 41 rebounds. However, gaps in the Blue and White defense were taken advantage of by St. John’s. The Bulldogs allowed 23 turnovers and were unable to weather the Red Storm at the three-point line, where their opponents scored 14 threes. 

Forward Camilla Emsbo ’23 and guard Jenna Clark ’24 once again showed their leadership as the top scorers of the weekend, notching up 28 and 24 points respectively. Forward Grace Thybulle ’25, van der Maas and guard Avery Lee ’25 also stood out in the games, scoring the first points of their careers during this weekend.

Van der Maas told the News that she was excited about her achievement, as well as grateful for the support from the team and coaches, especially since she was recovering from an injury that put her out of the whole preseason.

“It was pretty cool scoring my first career points,” Lee said about her milestone. “I know I have a lot to work on and I know I can be better in a lot of areas, so I’m looking forward to working towards that and feeling confident in myself.” 

The game against St. John’s kicked off a three-week away stint for the Bulldogs, where they will play six games on the road. The team faced off against the Boston University Terriers (2–4, 0–0 Patriot) on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and Fairfield Stags (3–3, 0–0 MAAC) on Sunday, Nov. 28. 

“Our road schedule is going to be difficult, especially with final assignments and exams,” Nesbitt said. “We are a resilient team, though, and look forward to the challenge of defeating teams on their home floors.” 

Yale’s match-up against Maine was the team’s first loss at home since Feb. 22, 2020.