WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Bulldogs drop weekend games to Princeton, Penn
The Yale women’s basketball team lost two more conference games, falling to last in the Ivy League.

Yale Athletics
This past weekend, the Yale women’s basketball team (2–18, 1–6 Ivy) hosted a home stand at John J. Lee Amphitheater, welcoming the Princeton Tigers (15–5, 6–1 Ivy) and the Penn Quakers (11–9, 2–5 Ivy) for their first match ups of the season.
Avery Lee ’25 told the News that the team was excited to compete against Princeton and Penn, having “good energy going into the weekend.”
The first game of the weekend on Friday, saw the Bulldogs go head-to-head against the orange and black stripes of the Tigers. Princeton has consistently been strong on the court, representing the Ivy League in the NCAA March Madness tournament last year. They currently stand in second place in the Ivy League behind Columbia (16–4, 7–0 Ivy). Historically, Yale has not fared well against Princeton, losing the last 10 games played in the past six years. The Elis were looking to secure a historic comeback victory.
Although the first period began with the Tigers jumping out to an 8–2 lead, the Bulldogs held their own. Kiley Capstraw ’26 answered Princeton with two points of her own, followed by a three-pointer and a layup from Mackenzie Egger ’25, who continued to exemplify offensive dominance on the court.
With the arrival of the second period, Yale gained further momentum. In the sharpest quarter of the game, Egger and Capstraw combined for nine of eleven points, just shy of Princeton’s twelve. Going into the half, the Tigers led 18–27, one of the closest battles of the season for the Bulldogs.
After the half, however, Princeton began to pull away. The duo of Egger and Capstraw could not match the Tigers’ bench, who saw seven players contribute baskets during the third period.
In the fourth period, the game slipped through the Elis’ fingers. Four turnovers, which resulted in six extra points, along with a 14.29 field goal percentage — compared to Princeton’s 62.5 percentage — led to an insurmountable deficit.
Princeton came away with the win, leaving New Haven with a resounding 38–74 victory.
The following day, the Bulldogs dressed in their retro cream-and-pink uniforms to take on the Quakers. Penn traveled to New Haven having lost three games in a row, including two to Columbia and Harvard (16–3, 5–2 Ivy), the two Ivy League schools which received votes for NCAA Division 1 rankings. Yale was looking to add a fourth consecutive loss to the Quakers’ record.
The Quakers accumulated an early lead in the first period which proved too difficult for the Bulldogs to overcome, despite an excellent showing the rest of the game. Penn took advantage of 14 points off turnovers in the first, outscoring Yale 16–26.
In the second period, Yale played a much closer game. Four different Bulldogs scored, including Lee, who began the 10-minute quarter with her signature three-pointer. Grace Thybulle ’25 put pressure on the Quaker defense, while first-year standout Marisa Chapman ’28 made the most of her jumpshot opportunities.
The third period saw usual suspects Capstraw and Egger contribute nine of twelve points, but it paled in comparison to the 21 points racked up on the Penn side. As the game continued, the deficit increased, and though the Bulldogs matched the Quakers point-for-point in the fourth quarter, including a perfect free throw percentage, it was not enough to secure the victory.
Penn ran away with the win, 60–80.
This marked Penn’s highest-scoring game in the new year. Quaker first-year Katie Collins received Ivy League Rookie of the Week following her strong performance.
Lee told the News that her team learned hard lessons that they’ll take into the rest of the season.
“We have to stay dialed in for all four quarters and play team basketball,” she said. “We can’t make it harder on ourselves by turning the ball over so many times. We’re looking forward to getting another shot at these teams in the coming weeks.”
Up next, Yale remains at home with a Feb. 8 contest against Cornell (5–15, 1–6 Ivy). Yale and Cornell are currently tied for eighth in the Ivy League.