NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A 21-11 scoring advantage for No. 24 Princeton in the third quarter gave the Tigers just what they needed Saturday afternoon against the Yale women's basketball team at Lee Amphitheater. The upset-minded Bulldogs had hung around throughout the first half, trailing by no more than nine until the final 4:01 of the second quarter. But Princeton's decisive edge in the third quarter turned a 13 point Tiger halftime lead into a 23 point Tiger lead heading into the fourth. Despite a solid final 10 minutes, the Bulldogs eventually fell 76-50.
Yale drops to 4-11 (0-2 Ivy League) while Princeton improves to 14-1 (2-0 Ivy League).
STATISTICAL LEADERS
KEY STAT
- Princeton had a 28-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
NOTES
- Yale had a 37-32 rebounding advantage. In addition to Meng's 10, the Bulldogs got six rebounds each from Chapman and first-year forward Dorka Kastl.
- This was the second-most points for Yale in a game vs. Princeton in the teams' last 11 meetings. Only the Feb. 2, 2024 game saw the Bulldogs score more (59).
- Sophomore guard Ciniya Moore scored 10 points, the 14th time in 15 games this season that she has scored in double digits.
- This was the second straight game in which Moore was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She is the only Bulldog this season to have any perfect free throw shooting games with a minimum of six attempts.
- Meng finished with nine points, one shy of a double-double.
- Eight different players played at least 13:51 for Yale.
QUOTING DALILA ESHE, YALE'S JOEL E. SMILOW, CLASS OF 1954 HEAD COACH OF WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
- On the team's solid finish in the fourth quarter, with Princeton only outscoring Yale 20-17 in that frame: "We always find fight, we play through to the end. That's true to who we are."
- On what makes Princeton so tough to play: "The biggest thing is their ability to score the basketball at all five positions. That's always a tough task for a defense. I thought some of their defensive presence rushed us. Still, we played a lot better basketball game [than this past Monday vs. Brown]. This was more true to Yale women's basketball."
- On Vydrova's effectiveness, scoring 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting: "She's got one of our highest field goal and three-point shooting percentages. She's probably one of our most efficient scorers. She's always a mismatch, and it was a matter of getting the ball to her."
AROUND THE IVY LEAGUE
- Brown 77, Penn 65 2OT
- Columbia 58, Harvard 55
- Cornell 61, Dartmouth 52
UP NEXT
- Yale visits Columbia Saturday, Jan. 17 for a 2:00 p.m. game.
