Amanda Pape Leads Sacred Heart to 79-68 Win Over Yale
12/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2003
FAIRFIELD, CT (December 3, 2003) - Sacred Heart freshman Amanda Pape (Stamford, CT) continued her torrid start to 2003-04 Wednesday night, pouring in 28 points to lead the Pioneers past Yale University, 79-68. Pape finished eight-of-12 from the floor and 11-of-12 from the free throw line, fell just one rebound shy of her first double-double with nine boards and also had six steals and three assists to lead SHU to their fifth-straight win over the Bulldogs and a 4-1 record to start the season.
The Pioneers got out of the gates quickly, using a 15-4 run to start the game with Pape scoring eight points during the stretch. Yale shot 0-for-7 to start the game with the only points coming on two Christina Phillips free throws before Aubrey Smith hit a lay-up at 13:31 to get the Bulldogs offense started. Sacred Heart used its tough in-your-face defense in the first half to convert 17 Yale turnovers into 19 points and build a 44-24 lead at the half. Yale shot just six-of-23 while Pape and the Pioneers scored in bunches in transition, putting up 16 fast break points in the half.
A furious Eli run to start the second half quickly thwarted what appeared to be a SHU blowout. Yale came out on fire, burying their first six shots and running off 15 unanswered points to cut the Pioneer lead to five. Phillips fueled the rally with two free throws, a lay-up and a three. Smith and Julie Cohen each nailed a three before SHU freshman Jasmine Walker (Amityville, NY) halted the streak with a jumper in the lane. Yale's Brynn Gingras hit from downtown to cut the lead to four, 46-42, the closest the Bulldogs would come the rest of the way.
Freshman Kerri Burke (Saugus, MA) stepped up to stop the Pioneer skid, hitting a three that ignited a 9-0 SHU run to stretch the lead back to 13. The Pioneer lead never fell under seven points the rest of the way with a pesky Yale team outscoring Sacred Heart 44-35 in the second half. The Bulldogs limited their turnovers to just seven in the half while shooting six-of-11 from the behind the three-point arc.
Burke turned in a solid performance, finding double figures for the first time in her short career, finishing with 11 points. Senior Kate Maher (Waterford, Ireland) turned in a double double with 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Maher has recorded double-digit rebounds in three-of-five games this season. Sophomore Nicolle Rubino (Port Jefferson Station, NY) continues to struggle early on this season, shooting just three-of-13 from the field and 0-for-4 from three-point range. She finished with six points and a game-high four assists.
For Yale, now 0-5 on the year, Phillips finished with 22 points, shooting 12-of-13 from the charity stripe. Gingras had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in the loss. Yale shot just 35.2% (19-54) from the field for the game and were outscored 34-12 in the paint and 24-0 on the fast break for the game.
Sacred Heart will host the Princeton Tigers this Saturday, December 3rd at 2 pm in their final home game before the Christmas holiday.
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