BU kills women's winning streak at three; Lafayette up next

The Yale women's basketball team left everything they had on the court against Boston University on Wed., Dec. 5. Literally. In the second half, guard Bonnie Smith, TD '04, collided with a Boston player, receiving a gash that gushed blood onto the floor and required stitches. Smith, who helped the Elis come back from 18 points down to tie the game, could not return, and the team fell 76-67.

Several Elis, especially younger players, had breakout games against the Terriers. Christina Phillips, JE '04, led the Bulldogs with 11 points, and Brynn Gingras, TC '04 notched 10. Lindsay Page, TD '05, who has been playing upwards of 20 minutes per game, pulled down seven rebounds.

Prior to the defeat at the hands of the Terriers, Yale had won three straight games. On Sat., Dec. 8, the team will look to begin a new streak against Patriot League rival Lafayette in Easton, Penn. Though the Leopards enter the game with a 1-5 record, Yale Assistant Coach Terri Schri-shuhn feels Lafayette will execute well on offense. "They have a new coach and a lot of young players, so they're pretty simple in terms of the number of things they're trying to do," she said. "But whatever they do, they'll run it as hard as they can."

To counter the Leopards' disciplined attack, the Elis will rely on their defensive pressure and athleticism. "We need to keep using our full-court press to create turnovers and easy scoring opportunities. The tempo is a key," Schrishuhn said. The squad will also have to focus on stopping Lafayette's forward, Colleen Fitzpatrick '04, who torched Princeton for 21 points on 67 percent shooting from the field.

On offense, the Elis will look to exploit their Goliathian size advantage. Lafayette starts no players above 6'0", while Yale's Phillips, and Meg Simp-son, SY '02, both exceed that mark. "We didn't have a good showing [against Boston] in the post, and our inside outside game needs to be stronger," Schrishuhn said. Maybe this time Smith's blood and sweat will lead to cheers and not tears.

—Aaron Lichtig

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