COURTESY SPORTS PUBLICITY OFFICE The Bulldogs will look to Alyson Miller, JE '01, to contribute offensively this weekend in a key game against Brown.

Women's hoops looks for redemption vs. Brown

To put it mildly, the women's basketball team is not off to a good start. At 2-11 (0-2 Ivy), they have been asking themselves exactly what they have to do to win.

Head Coach Amy Backus thinks her team has to work better at focusing simultaneously on offense and defense. Forward Meg Simpson, SY '02, says her team has to get past the disappointments of the season and concentrate on the game ahead. Whatever the problem has been, the Bulldogs will have to bring all their advantages into play as they host the Brown Bears on Sat., Jan. 22. in a key Ivy League game. Yale players have been consistent, but not stellar, scorers thus far this season. No one on the team is averaging tmore than 10 points per game. Maria Smear, SM '03, currently leads the team, averaging 9.7 points per game. Other potent scorers, especially forward Alyson Miller, JE '01—who is just coming off of an ACL injury last year—and Helene Schutrumpf, BK '03, also provide offensive energy.

Backus says defense has been her team's weak spot so far. "We're scoring enough points to win, but we really need to work on our defense especially," Backus said. "The girls have been very adaptable to changing defense strategies. They've been great when we asked them to change up zones to deal with a particular team."

Backus blamed turnovers for Yale's recent losses to Harvard and Dartmouth. "Because we did not handle the ball as well as we know we can, they had a couple of steals they should not have had," Backus explained.

The lone senior on the team, Captain Kelly Denit, DC '00, has been the backbone of Bulldog defense. Caitlin Bair, TD '02, one of the team's best defenders, is coming back from a knee injury she suffered early last season, but could prove to be the key to Yale's struggling defense.

On Brown's side, the team hopes their explosive offensive action will make up for the loss of their all-time leading scorer Vita Redding '99 (1,962 points) and last year's All-Ivy point guard Julie Amato '99. Rada Pavichevich '02 will lead the team after an impressive freshman season, where she saw action in all 26 contests; she is a strong shooter and defender, who can play guard or forward. Brown's experienced offense is recovering from injury—Kate Veronneau '00 has been injured for the past two seasons, and Nicole Brown '00, is recovering from extensive knee surgery last year.

Gearing up for the crucial conference game this coming Saturday, Backus hopes her team will look past their frustration and focus their energy. "It's been really hard for the girls, especially because this is a young team. We've been right on the edge in so many games. But I anticipate this experience will help us in the Ivy League season."

The Bulldogs are happy to be coming home. After playing their last 13 games on the road, they hope to get a large turnout for the home game. "Since this is a transition year, we've been really lucky to get an enormous amount of support from the athletic department and the Yale community," Backus said. "It's sort of a vicious circle. I think once we start winning some games, we'll get a lot of supportive spectators. But in order for us to win, we really need those spectators cheering us on."

Backus and her young team are looking to the Brown game with high hopes and an aggressive attitude. But while the team is being careful to take things one game at a time, they also see a crucial non-conference game coming up on the horizon. "We really need to take down Navy," Backus said. And, as always, sweeping Princeton is another season goal.

With 14 games left on the schedule, the team is far from despairing. As the men's team proved recently, one weekend can quickly turn around a season.

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