With a win vs. Navy, women's hoops back on track

In its first two Ivy League games of the season last weekend, the women's basketball team scored 15 and 18 first-half points against visiting Harvard (L 54-40) and Dart-mouth (L 55-51), respectively. By falling behind early on in these games, the Bulldogs struggled to recover later in the second halves. Even when the Elis did outscore their opponents in the second half, as they did with a 33-23 spurt against Dart-mouth on Sat., Jan. 13, they still found themselves trailing at the end of the game.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Facing Brown this weekend, the Bulldogs will continue to focus on their first-half offense.

"We were doing our job defensively, but we were really struggling to set a tempo and get our offense going in the first half," Head Coach Amy Backus said. "We know that we are capable of playing well, but we just need to do it consistently for 40 minutes," forward Meg Simpson, SY '02, added, "Our weakness in the two games over the weekend was our shooting percentage. We weren't taking good shots, and our percentage was poor."

The Bulldogs responded to these lackluster offensive performances with a 81-58 rout of a visiting Navy team on Mon., Jan. 15. Yale scored 47 points in the first half alone, 14 points more than the combined scoring from the first halves against Harvard and Dartmouth. "To fix our first half problems we have been trying different starting line-ups and new warm-ups, which we used against Navy," Simpson said. "It worked because we came out with an early lead."

Unlike the Harvard and Dartmouth games, during which the team's field goal percentages were 26.9 percent and 34 percent respectively, the Elis maintained a consistent offense versus Navy, shooting nearly 47.5 percent from the field. Additionally, the team shot 11-22 from three-point range, which further sparked the offense. By attacking the basket and spreading the floor, Yale mounted a balanced attack with five players scoring in the double digits. Center/forward Lily Glick, ES '01, and guard Maria Smear, BR '03, each contributed 12 points to lead the team in scoring. Forward Bonnie Smith, TD '04, added 11 points to the count, while forward Helene Schutrumpf, BK '03, and Simp-son ended with 10.

Guard Caitlin Bair, TD '02, credits the team's determination to improve its offensive game for the victory. In practice, the players looked to space the court, move the ball, and work on their inside-outside strategy, all of which translated into success in the Navy game. "We spread the floor, moved the ball, and, most importantly, executed," she said. "By getting our posts touches, more players were able to contribute in our offensive attack. It was nice to see our posts finally getting good looks at the basket."

Besides looking to score more often, the Bulldogs also relied upon their defensive and rebounding abilities, which have been their greatest strengths during the season. Against Navy, the persistent Yale defense limited the Midshipmen to a 32.8 shooting percentage from the field. The Elis also edged out their opponents on rebounding with a 48-31 advantage; forward and captain Alyson Miller, JE '01, Glick, and Simpson led the team with six rebounds apiece.

After the Navy victory boosted their record to 5-10 (0-2 Ivy) for the season, the players recognize that they must continue their aggressive offensive strategy in the future, especially as they prepare to head into Ivy League battle, where the title is certainly up for grabs. "The league is wide open right now," Backus said. "A season of consistency and effort will determine the winner in the end."

Such consistency requires working on timing, spacing, and passing in practice. Though the Bulldogs shot well from the field in their victory against Navy, they still accumulated 18 turnovers. "By possessing and controlling the ball, we will give ourselves more offensive opportunities," Bair said.

In the upcoming game against Brown on Fri., Jan. 19, Yale hopes to build upon its recent offensive surge and also preserve its defensive intensity. "We played a great game versus Navy, and hopefully, we'll be able to carry that performance over to our Brown game," Smith said. Assistant Coach Terri Schrishuhn stressed the importance of mental preparation among the players for achieving future success. "We need to start off where we finished against Navy, but we also need to feel good about what we have done," she said.

Smear explains the motivation of the Bulldogs as look ahead. "We just want to play our best every game and not have any regrets at the end of the season," she said.

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