NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women's basketball team looks to shake up the Ivy League standings this weekend with visits from two teams that are at or near the top. The Bulldogs host Penn Friday (6:00 p.m.,
ESPN+,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets) and Princeton Saturday (5:00 p.m.,
ESPN3,
International Stream,
Live Stats,
Tickets). The Tigers are in a tie for first in the Ivy League entering the weekend, while the Quakers are one game back.
Saturday's Game on ESPN3, Stretch Internet
Saturday's game will be available on ESPN3 instead of ESPN+. Information on how to watch on ESPN3 is available on
ESPN's website. Saturday's game will also be free on
Stretch Internet for viewers who do not get ESPN3.
Last Game
Yale (11-12, 5-5 Ivy League) fell to first-place Columbia 74-46 last Saturday in New York despite a notable defensive effort. The Bulldogs held the Lions six points below their season scoring average and 20 percentage points below their season shooting percentage. Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) posted her third straight double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds).
McGill Triples Up on Double-Doubles
Sophomore guard
Nyla McGill (Charlotte, N.C.) has had three straight double doubles, starting with a 20 rebound, 17 point effort against Harvard Feb. 3 that left her four shy of Yale's single-game rebounding record. McGill has seven double-doubles this season, putting her near the top 50 nationally (three players with nine are tied for 48th). She is second in the Ivy League in rebounding (9.0 per game) and third in the league in steals per game (2.61). She is third on the team in points per game (8.3). McGill is eighth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (4.6).
Clark a Candidate for Lieberman Award
Junior point guard
Jenna Clark (Pittsburgh, Pa.) has been selected as
one of the top 10 candidates for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the best point guard in women's college basketball. She leads the Ivy League in assists (126, 30th nationally), assists per game (5.5, 18th nationally) and minutes per game (36.03, 33rd nationally). She is fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.50) and ninth in steals per game (1.74). She leads Yale in scoring (11.1 points per game). By assisting or scoring, she has had a hand in 42.5 percent of Yale's field goals this season – more than any other player in the Ivy League.
Astrom Earns It from Beyond the Arc and at the Line
Junior guard
Klara Astrom (Menlo Park, Calif.) has hit at least one three-pointer in nine of the last 10 games. Astrom does a significant chunk of her scoring by earning trips to the free throw line. On a prorated basis, she earns 5.1 free throw attempts per 40 minutes – the most on the team. More than 25% of her points this season (37 of 145) have come on free throws.
Home Cooking
The Bulldogs are 5-4 at home this season and 28-14 (.667) at Lee since the start of the 2018-19 season.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day Celebration Saturday
Yale will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day Saturday, with free admission for children 12 and under. Multiple Yale teams will host a sports clinic for fans 12 and under after the game. There will also be a post-game autograph session.
Around the Ivy League
With three weekends left in the regular season, Columbia and Princeton are tied atop the
Ivy League standings with 8-2 league records. Harvard and Penn are tied for third, a game back at 7-3. Yale is fifth at 5-5. The top four teams in the Ivy standings make the Ivy League Tournament, which takes place at Princeton's Jadwin Gym Mar. 10-11 and determines the recipient of the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Friday's Ivy League games include:
- 6:00 p.m. Columbia at Harvard
- 6:00 p.m. Cornell at Dartmouth
- 6:00 p.m. Penn at Yale
- 7:00 p.m. Princeton at Brown
Saturday's Ivy League games include:
- 4:00 p.m. Columbia at Dartmouth
- 5:00 p.m. Cornell at Harvard
- 5:00 p.m. Penn at Brown
- 5:00 p.m. Princeton at Yale
Scouting Penn
Penn (15-8, 7-3 Ivy League) has gone 2-2 since beating Yale at the Palestra Jan. 21. Guard Kayla Padilla leads the Ivy League in assist/turnover ratio (1.71) and field goals (139), and she is second in minutes per game (34.81), points (113), three point percentage (.377) and three pointers (49). She is third in points per game (16.8).
Scouting Princeton
Princeton (17-5, 8-2 Ivy League) has won nine in a row heading into Friday night's game at Brown. The Tigers lead the league in scoring defense (54.4 points per game allowed), three point percentage defense (.298), turnover margin (4.77) and fewest turnovers per game (13.5).
Coach Eshe's Princeton Connection
Dalila Eshe, Yale's new Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Women's Basketball, spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Princeton. In 2021-22 she helped the Tigers to a No. 24 national ranking, an Ivy League title and an NCAA Tournament win over then No. 15 Kentucky. Eshe helped the Tigers to top 40 recruiting classes in each of the past three seasons, including the No. 19 overall class in 2022.
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