HAMDEN, Conn. – Sunday at Fairfield, the Yale women's basketball team rallied for a win after trailing by as many as 10. On Wednesday night at Quinnipiac, the Bulldogs almost pulled off the same feat against another local rival. Down 45-35 at one point in the third quarter, they stormed back with a 12-0 run to take the lead. The Bobcats would not let the Bulldogs pull away, however, and a see-saw battle ensued. The game came down to the final minute, with Quinnipiac ultimately holding on for a 61-59 win.
Quinnipiac (4-3, 0-0 MAAC) was coming off a program-record 113 points in its last game, and the Bobcats started Wednesday's game on fire. They shot .600 from the floor in the first quarter, including 4-for-5 from three-point territory. The Bulldogs hung close, though, and a three-pointer from first-year guard
Christen McCann at the buzzer pulled Yale within 23-17.
Yale (5-3, 0-0 Ivy League) played the majority of the second quarter without star junior forward
Camilla Emsbo, who picked up her second foul early in the quarter. Hot shooting by sophomore forward
Klara Astrom -- including three three-pointers in the game's first 14 minutes -- helped the Bulldogs remain within striking distance. But the Bobcats closed the quarter with an 11-4 run to get their lead to double digits at halftime, 41-31. Sophomore forward
Brenna McDonald provided a late highlight for the Bulldogs, scoring her first career points.
Midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time since 7:20 of the first quarter. They did so thanks to a 22-10 scoring edge in the quarter, keyed by a 12-4 rebounding edge and a .500 (8-for-16) shooting percentage. The 12-0 run that got Yale the lead included scoring from four different players, led by four points from Astrom.
Yale went into the final quarter with a 53-51 lead, but the Bobcats managed to stop the Bulldogs' momentum from the third. They utilized a 10-2 run to go ahead by as many as six with four minutes left, then withstood a late surge by Yale. An Astrom three and a free throw by sophomore guard
Jenna Clark got the Bulldogs within two, and they forced a bad shot by the Bobcats with less than 30 seconds to play. Astrom got the rebound and Yale called time, but the Bulldogs missed a three-pointer and another shot in the final 15 seconds and Quinnipiac was able to get the final rebound to seal the win.
Astrom finished with a career-high 19 points, including four three-pointers. Emsbo had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Clark and McCann both hit double digits with 10 points. Clark added eight assists, seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior forward
Alex Cade had seven rebounds, helping Yale to a 42-33 edge on the boards.
"We had four players in double digits, and I was proud of the fight that we showed in the third and fourth quarters to put us in a position to battle with a very tough team," said
Allison Guth, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball.
Yale visits Saint Joseph's Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
