Four Players Score In Double-Figures For Bulldogs

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Despite a 12-point comeback in the first half and 17 points from senior captain Sarah Halejian, the Yale women's basketball team was unable to make up for the difference in the rebounding column, falling to Bucknell, 73-66, on Friday afternoon.

Bucknell outrebounded Yale, 43-28, with a game-high 15 pulled down by senior forward Audrey Dotson. The Bulldogs managed only 19 defensive rebounds to Bucknell's 33, and for the first time since the opening game against St. John's, Yale recorded fewer offensive rebounds than its opposition (10-9).

Halejian (Wyckoff, N.J.), freshman forward Jen Berkowitz (Wayland, Mass.), and sophomore forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) all had five rebounds each to lead the Bulldogs.

The Bison also controlled the paint, outscoring the Elis 46-24 in the lane throughout the game. On top of her 15 rebounds, Dotson scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half, providing nearly half of the Bucknell offense in the period.

After shooting 48-percent and 43-percent in each of the previous two games, the Bulldogs came out cold against the Bison, making only 4-of-19 from the field in the first nine minutes. Bucknell was able to grab a 20-8 lead in the first 10 minutes, which is when Yale started coming on strong.

Three straight baskets, two by Halejian and one by Berkowitz, put the Bulldogs on a 6-0 run to narrow the lead to six. A few minutes later, a strong post move by junior forward Meredith Boardman (Oak Park, Ill.) resulted in a three-point play, cutting the lead to one.

At the 2:41 mark, Werner made the first of her two three-pointers, tying the game at 30. Jump shots by Halejian and sophomore guard Lena Munzer (Highland Park, Ill.) extended the lead to 34-31 at the intermission.

The Bison came out firing in the second half, going on a quick 9-2 run in the first four minutes to regain a 40-36 lead. Yale was 1-for-10 from the field in the first eight minutes of the second half, having to rely on its scrappy defense to hold back Bucknell.

The aggressive Bulldog defense had arguably its most productive game of the season, tying a season-high with seven blocks and recording 12 steals. Freshman guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.) snagged a career-high six steals with the work of her lightning-quick hands, becoming the first Bulldog to have five or more steals in a game since Janna Graf had five against Army last December.

The Elis kept pressuring the Bison in the second half, keeping the home team in a hurried frenzy to get the ball over mid-court, but Bucknell's 48.1-percent (13-of-27) team shooting made up for its 20 turnovers.

Facing an eight-point deficit with under nine minutes remaining, Werner hit her second three-point jumper to cut the lead to five. Over the next three-and-a-half minutes though, the Bison would get baskets from Dotson and junior guard Claire Maree O'Bryan to expand the lead to 60-51.

Yale would narrow the Bucknell lead to six and even four points in the final two minutes of regulation, but the Bulldogs didn't receive any favors from the Bison at the free throw line. Bucknell made 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes (19-of-23 for the game) and pulled away in the final 60 seconds.

Halejian led Yale with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing out six assists in 32 minutes of action. Simpson scored 13 to go with her six steals, while Boardman scored 11 and Werner contributed 10.

The Bulldogs once again effectively worked the ball around on offense, ending up with 15 assists in the game, following a team-high 21 against Wagner on Wednesday night. Freshman guard Mary Ann Santucci (Seattle, Wash.) had three against the Bison.

Dotson scored 25 with 15 rebounds for Bucknell (both game-highs), while O'Bryan scored 12 and sophomore forward Claire DeBoer added 11.

Yale is now off for a six-day holiday break before heading to Arizona and Oklahoma for games on Dec. 28 and 30, respectively. The Bulldogs will play the Sun Devils at 4:30 p.m. (ET).

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity