Simpson Matches Career-High With Seven Steals

PRINCETON, N.J. – Facing the high-scoring, defending Ivy League champions, the Yale women's basketball team turned in arguably its strongest defensive effort of the season, forcing 25 turnovers and grabbing 16 steals in Saturday's 65-50 loss at Princeton.

The score was not indicative of the scare that the Bulldogs (11-10, 2-2 Ivy) put into the Tigers, who erased multiple double-figure deficits and trailed by only three points at the 5:54 mark of the third quarter.

Had it not been for the stellar play of sophomore guard Tamara Simpson (North Babylon, N.Y.), the Elis may not have had the opportunity to win their first game in the Jadwin Gym since a 56-54 victory on Feb. 13, 2009.

Simpson scored a team-high 10 points and matched a career-high with seven steals. The Ivy League's leader in steals this year, Simpson is just six away from tying Yale's single-season record set by Sue Johnson in the 1983-84 season (74 steals).

"When the lights go on, Tamara is a gamer. It's one of the things she takes pride in, catching people off-guard – shooting the gap, finding ways to get her hands on the ball and creating transition opportunities," said Joel E. Smilow '54 head coach Allison Guth.

Three other players scored at least seven points for the Bulldogs, including nine points from junior guard Meghan McIntyre (Santa Rosa Valley, Calif.). Junior forward Katie Werner (Phoenix, Ariz.) and senior forward Nyasha Sarju (Seattle, Wash.) added eight and seven, respectively.

Yale shot just 30-percent from the field in the second half, compared to Princeton's 50-percent. The Bulldogs' defensive effort held the Tigers to just 51 attempts (Yale had 63) in the game, allowing few second opportunities.

"We got back to our way of playing aggressive pressure defense. At the end of the day, I like the 25 turnovers, but it's the possessions we took off on defense that determined the game," said Guth.

Trailing 56-47 with 4:59 remaining in the game, a corner three-pointer by Princeton's Kenya Holland stretched the lead back to 12. The Elis would not get within single digits the rest of the way.

A 20-14 scoring advantage in the second quarter helped the Bulldogs cut Princeton's lead to just 33-28 at halftime, after falling behind by as many as 14 in the period. A 10-0 run over a three-minute span, helped along by six points from Werner, cut the lead to four midway through the second.

Five points off the bench by junior forward Elizabeth Haley (Dayton, Ohio) in the second quarter helped the Bulldogs close the gap and put pressure on the Tigers.

"If there are a couple things we don't lack, it's a little bit of gumption and a lot of belief in our team," said Guth of the team's comeback bid. "No matter the score, we always fight back, but now we have to flip the switch and keep the game close while we compete."

The key stretch came in the third quarter when Yale, trailing only 39-36 with much of the momentum, allowed Princeton to end the period on a 12-5 run. Over a period of two-and-a-half minutes, Tigers' forward Alex Wheatley scored 10 straight points on five baskets to help Princeton pull ahead.

A three-pointer by sophomore guard Mary Ann Santucci (Seattle, Wash.) and layup by Sarju were the only hoops for Yale in the final 5:54 of the third.

"We had some offensive flow tonight, but we were exchanging too many buckets with them. It shows the fight and heart from us, but for the results we want, we have to put in more work," said Guth.

Yale has scored 50 or fewer points in the last three games (1-2), relying on its defense to keep the game close. Princeton's offense however, which came in averaging 73 points per game, shot 51-percent from the field and was able to overcome the 25 miscues.

The Elis had a 27-16 scoring advantage in points off turnovers, but had a 32-22 disadvantage in the paint. Princeton had four players score in double-figures, with Wheatley netting a game-high 14 points.

Next weekend, the Bulldogs once again will hit the road to take on Columbia and Cornell on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The game against the Lions, a team that Yale swept in 2014-15, will tip-off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity