NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team was looking for a spark offensively as it headed into its second Ivy League game of the year Saturday vs. Harvard at Lee Amphitheater. They found it on the bench. Sophomore
Elles van der Maas registered a career-high 22 points in just 25 minutes, leading the way with six three-pointers on a night where the Bulldogs shot a season-best .462 from downtown. With four different players scoring in double digits, Yale had more than enough offense to withstand a 27 point night from Harvard guard Lola Mullaney. The Bulldogs came away with an 80-73 win over their archrivals.
"Good things happen when you can score the ball," said
Allison Guth, Yale's Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "We knew from the Columbia game [a 65-55 loss last Sunday] that was our deficiency. We needed to find a way to put the ball in the basket, and that spark from the bench gave our team confidence."
Yale (8-6, 1-1 Ivy League) opened with six missed shots from the field, but it was not long before van der Maas helped reverse that trend. She came in with 4:09 left in the first quarter and within 29 seconds hit her first three, pulling the Bulldogs within 9-8. She made one more three that quarter, helping Yale remain within striking distance. The Bulldogs trailed 23-16 after one.
Harvard (7-8, 1-2 Ivy League) took its biggest lead of the game, 33-20, on a Mullaney three with 5:28 left in the second quarter. Yale answered with a remarkable 17-0 run that included five threes – two from van der Maas, two from sophomore guard
Klara Astrom and one from first-year guard/forward
Mackenzie Egger. Sophomore guard
Jenna Clark assisted on four of those shots, and sophomore forward
Haley Sabol assisted on the other. The Bulldogs wound up outscoring Harvard 24-13 in the second.
"We did a better job in the second working with our defensive game plan," said Guth. "We were better with our closeouts and were more intentional with the three ball. On the defensive end we were good about only giving up one shot, while on the offensive end players were creating second-chance opportunities."
Clark ended the half with an exclamation mark, hitting a three at the buzzer to make the score 40-36 Yale. The Bulldogs built the lead to as many as nine points in the third quarter, holding Harvard to a .294 shooting percentage in that frame.
After the Crimson got within three with 8:06 left, van der Maas hit her sixth three and Yale never looked back. The Bulldogs made seven of eight free throws in the final 1:57 to seal the win.
Clark finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists, part of a day in which Yale had a season-high 19 assists. Astrom hit three three-pointers en route to scoring 15 points, adding seven rebounds (all defensive). Junior forward
Camilla Emsbo had her ninth double-double of the year: 13 points and 12 rebounds.
van der Maas' previous career high was 11 points in the third game of the season.
"We've always known the strength that Elles had as a shooter," said Guth. "She knows she can be really effective from the offensive end."
The game marked the first career start for Egger, who played a key role in neutralizing Harvard guard Harmoni Turner – winner of three straight Ivy League Rookie of the Week awards.
"
Mackenzie Egger is a player that works her tail off in practice," said Guth. "She's going to give you her best effort. We knew we would need her defensive integrity playing one of the best offenses in the league. She did a terrific job on Harmoni Turner, and got a big offensive board early."
Yale travels to Cornell next Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. game.
