Courtesy: Brady Smith, Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Release: 02/05/2006
NEW HAVEN, Conn. Yale rallied from a 20-point second-half deficit and
Erica Davis hit the game-winner with 6.9 seconds left to hand the
Quakers a heartbreaking 53-52 loss on Saturday evening at the John
J. Lee Amphitheater.
Ahead 29-19 at halftime, the Quakers (3-15, 1-4 Ivy) came out of the
locker room strong with senior Jennifer Fleischer scoring six of Penn's
10 straight points to give them a 39-19 lead at the 15:13 mark.
The Bulldogs (2-17, 1-5 Ivy) slowly chipped away at the lead, however,
cutting the deficit to 10 points at the seven-minute mark and down to
five points after Jamie Van Hornes three-pointer with four minutes
remaining. The biggest factor in Yale's comeback was the 6-foot-3 Davis,
who torched the Quakers inside, scoring all of her 15 points in the second
half.
After a Monica Naltner jumper gave Penn a seven-point advantage, Davis
scored twice in the paint on consecutive possessions to cut the score
to 51-48 with 1:55 left.
Senior Rachel Wilson was fouled on the other end of the court, and hit
one of her two foul shots to put the Quakers ahead by four.
Yales Van Horne missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing play and the
Bulldogs knocked the ball out-of-bounds, but Penn gave it right back after
an in-bound pass was thrown errantly off the court.
Van Horne redeemed herself after the Quaker turnover by draining a clutch
three-point shot with just 16 seconds left to make the score 52-51.
Penn did not get a shot off on the next play as the Bulldogs forced
another
turnover, which set the stage for Davis on the opposite end, as she
drilled
a 10-foot jumper with just under seven seconds left to give Yale its first
lead since the opening minutes of the game.
A last-second attempt by Fleischer bounced off the rim, sealing Penns
fourth
straight loss and giving Yale its first Ivy League victory.
Things looked good for the Quakers in the first half, as they went on a
20-4 run to start the game. Yale showed some life in the final minutes
of the half, cutting the score to 27-16 before Penns Carrie Biemer hit
two foul shots with under 20 seconds left to claim a 13-point advantage.
But instead of taking that lead into halftime, Yales Stephanie Marciano
nailed a three-point shot as time expired to make the score 29-19.
Fleischer notched her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and
12 rebounds, while adding four blocks for Penn. Naltner chipped in eight
points and Wilson scored seven points to compliment eight boards on the
evening.
Davis finished with 15 points and two blocks for the Bulldogs while
Chineyne
Okafor contributed seven points and eight rebounds to the winning effort.
The Quakers return to action next weekend as they host Ivy League leader
Dartmouth on Friday, Feb. 10, and Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 11. Both
games tip-off at 7 p.m., at The Palestra.
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