Lady Bulldogs finally find winning touch against Columbia

Following an 82-57 trouncing at the hands of Cornell on Fri., Feb. 9, the women's basketball team reached the low point of an already disappointing 2001 season. Yale (6-15, 1-7 Ivy) had lost nine out of the last 10 games, and although the Bulldogs suffered a near-total collapse in the second half of their game against the Big Red, the Cornell loss may have provided the motivation needed for a mid-season turnaround.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Lily Glick, ES '01, shoots a lay-up.

After a night of soul-searching, a rejuvenated and determined Bulldog squad played near-flawless basketball and easily defeated Columbia. Yale used stingy defense and hard-nosed post play to overcome the Lions. Center Christina Phillips, JE '04, came off the bench to score 13 points and snag seven rebounds that propelled the Bulldogs to their first win in six contests. "The Columbia game was team basketball," Captain Alyson Miller, JE '01, said. "We worked the ball around on offense and played the entire 40 minutes with some great defensive intensity."

The Bulldogs attribute their recent struggles to poor play late in the game. Three of their seven league losses have been by five points or fewer, and the team dropped consecutive overtime decisions to Penn and Princeton. Though one of the deepest teams in the Ivy League with a steady nine-player rotation, Yale lacks a player that can consistently drain important shots down the stretch. Against Columbia, several Bulldogs shared the leadership role, and Yale hit enough crucial baskets to tame the Lions. "In our recent losses, we made some key mistakes that ultimately cost us the game," Phillips said. "We didn't do anything differently against Columbia, but we maintained our composure and finally won a close game."

The Bulldogs hope to avenge two Ivy losses this weekend as they battle Dartmouth and Harvard at home. With six games remaining, Yale has been all but eliminated from contention for the Ivy League title. Nonetheless, the team looks to finish the season on a high note. "We've had a lot of bad breaks, and hopefully the breaks will come our way in the second half of the season," Maria Smear, BR '03, said. "We want to finish the season well, and we're certainly not throwing in the towel and looking to next year." —Kenneth Hammond

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