The Bears (7-9, 1-1 Ivy) suffered a disappointing loss to Yale (6-10, 1-1) last Friday in the Pizzitola Center in a 59-47 decision just one week after defeating the Bulldogs 68-67 in a buzzer-beater in New Haven.
In their first matchup, which kicked off Ivy League play, the two teams dueled in the first half before the Bears established a slim but persistent lead in the second. With five seconds left in the game, the Bulldogs tied up the score 67-67, but Bruno stopped them in their tracks. With one second remaining, Co-Captain Sheila Dixon ’13 sank a free throw, sealing the deal for Brown.
Lauren Clarke ’14, who is tied for leading the league in scoring, continued her dominance as she racked up her fourth 20-point effort this season. For her efforts in the victory over Yale and for a Jan. 15 victory over the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Clarke was named Ivy Co-Player of the Week.
The Bears failed to duplicate their success in the rematch as the Bulldogs doubled down on their defense, limiting Bruno’s shooting percentage to 30 percent from the field and just 25 percent from the arc.
Sophie Bikofsky ’15, who led the Bears with 11 points, said the Bulldog’s defensive pressure created a lot of turnovers during the match. She added that the Bears’ defense was not as strong as in the first game.
“We allowed them to penetrate deep into the key, which gave them easy scores,” Bikofsky said.
Yale’s aggression paid off in the second half — the team took a 12-point lead at the eight-minute mark that Brown couldn’t overcome.
“We were more aggressive in attacking the basket in the first game, getting to the foul line much more than we did in the second game,” Bikofsky said.
The Bears’ next game will be Feb. 1 at home against Dartmouth.
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