Women's basketball unable to complete comeback, falls to Yale

With 30 seconds left in the game, Columbia’s Lauren Dwyer stepped to the line with a chance to trim Yale’s lead to one. However, the normally dependable shooter couldn’t deliver this time and missed both free throws. Yale eventually won 81-74.

The end of the game was disappointing for Columbia (13-7, 4-2 Ivy), but for most of the night it appeared as if the Lions wouldn’t even reach that point.

With Columbia defensive ace Kathleen Barry out with a knee injury, Yale started out hot, shooting 69 percent in the first half to take a 10 point halftime lead. Bulldogs guard Yoyo Greenfield had 13 first-half points and shot a perfect three-for-three from 3-point range. The Bulldogs as a team made nine of its first 10 3-pointers on their way to a Yale season-high 10 3-pointers.

The second half started out worse, as the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to begin the second half to balloon their lead to 18. From there though, the Light Blue slowly clawed its way back, displaying its tenacious defense and a balanced offense to get back in the game. After Lions sophomore Melissa Shafer drained a three, the once 18-point lead had now been trimmed to four points with two minutes to play. A few plays later, Shafer found Sara Yee wide open in the corner. Yee connected on the crucial 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with a minute remaining.

Greenfield, who scored a career-high 20 points, made sure Columbia wouldn’t complete its improbable comeback, connecting on a contested floater to give Yale a three-point lead. After Dwyer missed her free throws, the Bulldogs were able to escape with the win. The Bulldogs improved their conference record to 4-2 and are now tied with three other teams for second.

Greenfield led the way with 20 points. Freshman Megan Vasquez scored 19 points and had seven assists.

Columbia’s Lomax had 20 points and a career-high seven steals in the losing effort. Shafer scored 13 points off the bench and Dwyer had 10 points and five blocks.

Columbia plays next in Levien Gym in a crucial matchup against the conference-leading Princeton Tigers. Tip-off is set for Friday 7 p.m.