Brown (9-8, 1-0 Ivy) 86 vs Yale (10-6, 0-1 Ivy) 71
The Bears starters used a fast paced offense and defense to pave the way for a 86-71 victory in front of a boisterous Education Day crowd at the Pizzitola Sports Center. Shayna Mehta led the way for Brown, scoring a career high 37 points on 10 for 19 shooting from the field and 14 of 15 from the free throw line. In all, Brown had four players in double figures with Justine Gaziano adding 19, Taylor Will scoring 13 and Erika Steeves putting in 11. Bruno shot 52 percent from the field, including 8 three pointers at 44 percent, and hit 76 percent (16-21) from the charity stripe. On defense, Yale was held to 29 percent shooting from three and 50 percent (8-16) from the line, while Roxy Barahman, who entered the day as the league’s leading scorer at 20.1 points per game, was limited to eight points on 23 percent shooting. The Bears full court pressure stymied the Bulldogs to the tune of 18 steals and 20 forced turnovers that led to 29 points.
The Bears jumped out to 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter with Mehta scoring 12 points and Steeves adding 6. The lead increased went to a high of 17 before finishing at 43-28 at the half. Brown entered the locker room shooting 60 percent, while Yale made only 39 percent. The Bulldogs brought the deficit down to 10 twice during the third quarter, but each time the Bears responded and finished the quarter 68-53. Yale’s Alexandra Maund hit a layup with 6:42 to go make it a nine-point game, but that would be the closest the game would get. Camilla Emsbo had 26 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks as Yale lost for the first time in six contests, while Megan Gorman added 11 points.
These same two teams will match up next Saturday at 2 p.m. at the John J. Lee Amphitheater.
Cornell (7-5, 1-0 Ivy) 60 vs Columbia (4-10, 0-1 Ivy) 51
Cornell, which had lost a 15-point second half lead early in the fourth quarter, bounced back against Columbia to win its Ivy opener, fifth straight game and seventh straight home contest on Saturday afternoon. The Big Red forced the Lions into a half court game, ending the second quarter up 30-17. Cornell shot 50 percent from two, but only managed a 1-4 effort from beyond the arc. They ended the half with 6 different players getting on the board, led by Laura Bagwell-Katalinich’s 21 points on 6-9 shooting. The Lions managed 36 percent (5-14) from three, but were held scoreless (0-13) from two. They were led by reserve Madison Hardy with 9 points and starter Riley Casey, who scored 8.
Columbia regrouped to push the pace in the second half, generating more transition offense while forcing the Big Red onto the three point line. The Lions ended the third quarter down 10, making 60 percent of their two pointers and 44 percent from three in the quarter. The Red’s number dropped to 14 percent (1-7) from three and 38 percent from inside the arc in that ten minute frame.
Mikayla Markham gave the Lions their first lead of the day, 47-46, with 6:19 left in regulation. Her jumper at the 5:27 mark finished a 15-0 run and extended the Columbia lead to three. Just when it looked like the game was slipping away, the Red clamped down on the defensive end to change the game’s momentum. Cornell held Columbia without a bucket the rest of the way, finishing the contest on a 13-1 run.
Cornell ended up shooting 44 percent from two and 17 percent from three, but the Big Red were plus-22 percent in rebounding, which led to a 20-7 advantage in second chance points. Bagwell-Katalinich finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for the Big Red, while Samantha Widmann added a double-double of 13 points and 11 boards. Columbia only managed six two point buckets on the day, but they did end with 12 made threes. Unfortunately for the Light Blue & White, they went 0-7 from beyond the arc over the crucial last five minutes. On the day, Casey had 16 points, Hardy added 15 and Markham ended with a double-double of 11 points – 10 assists. Sienna Durr, who came in as the league’s fifth-leading scorer at 15.2 points per game, was held to only two points in 15 minutes of action.
Cornell will travel to New York City to complete the home-and-home on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Harvard (8-6, 1-0 Ivy) 56 vs Dartmouth (7-7, 0-1 Ivy) 46
Harvard, which dominated Dartmouth in the first half, withstood a third quarter Big Green rally, to take the Ivy opener for both teams at Lavietes Pavilion. The win is their fourth in a row and ninth consecutive home victory in league play.
The Crimson started out on a 16-0 run, as they held Dartmouth without a point through the game’s first 13:38. By halftime, the lead was extended to 27-7. Dartmouth was held to just 15 percent shooting from two and an 0-10 showing from three. The Harvard offense turned the ball over 10 times and shot 25 percent from three, but Madeline Raster went 2-4 from beyond the arc and Jeannie Boehm shot 3 for 5 from inside the arc to combine for 16 first half points.
The Big Green started the second half on an 18-4 run over the first 5:34 and an Annie McKenna layup at the 39 second mark of the third quarter cut the deficit to four, 38-34. Harvard then bounced back with a 10-2 run of their own, punctuated by five points from Jadyn Bush, to take a 48-36 lead with 4:39 left in regulation. After a Kealy Brown three pointer brought Dartmouth back to within 9, another Bush layup and a Katie Benzan three with 3:17 remaining (her first field goal of the day) ended any hope the Big Green had at making another comeback.
The Crimson shot 50 percent from two and 71 percent (10-14) from the free throw line, but only shot 23 percent (6-23) from beyond the arc. They were + 16 in total rebounds and had a 50 percent offensive rebounding rate, which they used to get a 18-8 advantage in second chance points. Boehm and Bush both had double-doubles with 12 points-13 rebounds and 10 points-10 rebounds, respectively. Raster finished with 10 points (1 in the second half), and Benzan, who started the day as the league’s fourth highest scorer at 14. 8 points per game, totaled five
Dartmouth only shot 34 percent from two, 19 percent (4-21) from three and 44 percent (4-9) from the charity stripe on the day, but they hit 50 percent from two and 36 percent (4-11) from three in the second half. The Big Green dual point guards led the way with Cy Lippold scoring 11 points and McKenna adding 10. Isalys Quinones, who averaged 13.5 points per game, was limited to only three points by the tenacious Harvard front court.
The teams will meet in Hanover on Saturday at 5 p.m.
No love for the Brown – Yale men?