Yale cruised past Cornell in women's basketball on Friday to give coach Chris Gobrecht her 500th win.
Here was my preview on the game:

NEW HAVEN – Yale women’s basketball coach Chris Gobrecht has never shied away from a challenge. That’s what makes her impending 500th win all the more impressive.
Gobrecht, the 30th winningest active coach in women’s basketball goes for the milestone tonight as Yale hosts Cornell at 7 p.m. at the Lee Amphitheater. The Bulldogs are 12-8 overall and 4-2 in the Ivy League.
In her 32nd year on the sidelines, Gobrecht is a portrait of irony. She hates to lose and then takes over struggling programs that defy the odds.
Her entire family seems to relish the challenge. Gobrecht’s son, Eric, is a C-5 pilot with the Air Force currently flying missions out of Afghanistan. Her daughter Madeline shunned other offers to play basketball at Yale and her husband Bob has left top positions with the Seattle Mariners, Anaheim Angels and others to be with his wife as she trekked around the country at various coaching jobs. He is currently the President and Managing Director of Special Olympics North America,
Chris Gobrecht is the architect of the family. Rebuilding is her niche.
“It’s funny that I despise losing and yet I put myself in positions where it could happen,” she said.
Yale is Gobrecht’s fifth Division I reclamation project. After turning around a failing program at Cal State Fullerton, Gobrecht turned Washington into one of the elite teams in the nation. The Huskies were ranked as high as third in the country and became a fixture in the NCAA tournament advancing to the Elite Eight in 1990.
She had eight 20-win campaigns at Washington and is a two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year. Her 1990 win over Stanford, which was undefeated and ranked No. 1 at the time, is still one of the highlights of her coaching life.
“When we beat Stanford it was a huge thing as far as turning things around,” Gobrecht said. “It was like at UConn. Geno (Auriemma) was there around 10 years and there wasn’t much going on and then things took off.
“Stanford ended up winning the national championship that year and we had lost to them by 40 earlier in the season. We were really good but we weren’t at their level but when they came to our place it was sold-out and when we beat them. From that point on the program was off and running.”
Washington won 28 games that season but Gobrecht, frankly, got bored, and after 11 years sought out another challenge. A year later she returned to the Pac-10 to help rebuild the program at USC, never concerned about her personal record on the sidelines.
“I think the win-loss record in college basketball is the most overrated statistic there is,” Gobrecht said. “It all depends on who you play. You see those schools all the time that are 14-2 going into conference play and then they go 6-10 in the conference.
“I think there are a lot of great coaches who don’t win all the time and there are a lot of coaches who win that aren’t great coaches. When you coach as long as I’ve had it’s not that big a deal to get to 500 wins. You can really manipulate your win-loss record.”
That’s something Gobrecht has never done, not at Washington when her team was one of the best in the country and not at Yale despite its inherent academic challenges. Earlier this season Yale played a stretch of games that put them on the road at top-ranked Baylor, No.12 Delaware and at Florida State.
Yale lost them all but their coach thinks it made her team better for it and gave her players lasting memories of the competition they’ve played.
Gobrecht got first-hand experience at how important win totals could be when she was USC. With her team finishing around third or fourth in the rugged Pac-10 she still scheduled difficult non-conference opponents and had to cross her fingers when the NCAA bids came out. Occasionally getting snubbed by the selection committee still burns but she’s never chosen to soften her schedule.
After another fine run at USC, Gobrecht came to Yale and had to start the rebuilding process all over again. Her team went 3-24 her first year.
“I guess I look for these jobs because I’m a fighter by nature,” she said. “I like the underdog. Rebuilding is my niche and I’m happier trying to prove I can do things that people say you can’t do.”
Gobrecht led Yale to a dozen wins in 2006 and 14 more last season including one of the most memorable victories of her career.
“Beating Florida State (ranked 14ht at the time) was the most improbable win I’ve been associated with,” she said. “The game was going on and we were so close and then it was, ‘Wow, we’re actually going to win.’”
In the 38 years of the program it was the first time Yale ever beat a ranked opponent. Yale then swept rival Harvard and finished second in the Ivy League at 10-4. The Bulldogs earned a berth in the WNIT after the season, its first in program history.
Gobrecht said she’s a better coach now than she was when she was in her thirties and said she’s never worked as hard as she is currently doing. She said she still recruits the same players at Yale that she always has but “they just have to have better grades.” She also said she is enjoying herself now perhaps more than ever before.
And Yale gave Gobrecht a memory she will never forget when she coached her daughter Mady for the past four years. Mady Gobrecht was a gritty undersized post player who earned All-Ivy honors last season averaging 12 ppg and 6.3 rebounds.
“It was the highlight of my life,” Gobrecht said. “I always say that she came to Yale in spite of me, not because of me, but I was just thrilled to coach her and it’s made us very close.”
Yale could be her last stop, unless she just wins too much.
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By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
Yale coach Chris Gobrecht intentionally schedules a grueling non-league slate to get her team ready when the Ivy League season starts. The problem this year is that practically nothing could prepare her team for this season’s cheduling quirks.
Yale opens up Ivy League play tonight at Brown, at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs then host the Bears next week before playing the next four league games back on the road.
“There’s no question I’m concerned about it,” Gobrecht said. “I’m on the women’s basketball Division I advisory committee and I try to get people to understand how tough you have to be to compete in the Ivy League. We play back-to-back games. We have road trips that it seems like you’re on buses endlessly.
“So doing five out of your first six on the road we just have to be really tough. We can’t have excuses. We can’t be babies about it we’ve just got to buckle down and get it done. The good thing about is we get to be home at the end but what’s hard when you open up with so many on the road you don’t want to be out of it before you’ve got into well into the league.”
Yale went 10-4 in the Ivy League last year finishing second place behind powerhouse Princeton which is not only the favorite to repeat their league title for the third straight season but is also teetering on the brink of national prominence. The Tigers are 27-1 in Ivy League play over the past two seasons and Gobrecht thinks they could be even better this year.
But Gobrecht, whose team enters league play 8-6, has done her best to get her team ready for the ensuing onslaught. She’s traveled to Delaware, Florida State and top-ranked Baylor this year.
“Everytime you arrange your preseason you try to get some games you’re pretty sure you’re going to win,” she said. “Then you put in those games that you’re likely to lose and then have a good percentage of 50-50 games. When you go through it you would like to win the games you’re supposed to win and win more than your share of the 50-50 games and then get some upsets.
“The only thing we didn’t do was get the upsets. We won our share of the other games but those upsets would have had to have happened at Baylor and at Delaware and at Florida State and that probably wasn’t going to happen.”
But Gobrecht said she feels that playing elite teams like Baylor at the very least will give her team lasting memories.
“We had a good time and I think the team we’ll always be able to take with them that in 2011 we played the two best players in collegiate women’s basketball in Baylor’s Brittney Griner and Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne and that will be a thrill that they carry with them a long time,” Gobrecht said.
Yale swept Brown (9-4) last season but Gobrecht feels the Bears are improving.
“We had a really tough time with them both times last year and they’re more experienced this year,” she said. “They play great together and they’re deceptive and effective and they’re preseason record proves it.”
The Bulldogs are also battling a few injuries including a concussion to freshman Hayden Latham suffered against Florida State. The injury still irks Gobrecht.
“There was a player at Florida State that took a real cheap shot at her and we’re not happy about it,” Gobrecht said. “She’s been out since that game we’re not sure when we’ll have her back.”
With its second-place finish last season Yale earned a berth in the WNIT, its first national postseason bid.
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Here are the details, courtesy of Yale:

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale University women’s basketball team knew the task of beating Army was not going to be an easy one, but the Bulldogs certainly didn’t expect it to be as difficult as it turned out to be.

Army freshman Olivia Schretzman had a chance to lift Army to the come-from-behind victory, but her eight-foot jumper at the buzzer rolled in and out of the basket, allowing Yale to survive with a 63-62 win Sunday afternoon inside John J. Lee Amphitheater.

Yale had a 61-58 lead with 2:20 left thanks to a layup from Aarica West, but Schretzman tied the game with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 1:53 left. Anna Simmers, who led Army with 17 points, made 1-of-2 free throws with 1:30 left to give Army a 62-61 lead, but on the ensuing offensive possession, Graf missed a 3-pointer with 1:15 left and Vasquez grabbed the offensive board and scored on the put-back layup with 1:10 left to lift Yale to the victory.

Army had a full 30 seconds and one timeout remaining to plan its attack for the final shot, but the timeout was never called and the Black Knights scrambled to find someone open for the last-ditch effort. Despite the disarray at the end, Schretzman managed to get a good look at the basket for the final shot, but she couldn’t get it to fall as time expired.

Yale saw five players score at least eight points, and the balanced attach helped the Bulldogs improve to 6-6 overall with two games remaining in the non-league schedule. Michelle Cashen recorded her eighth career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Megan Vasquez also scored 11 points, one game after she was held scoreless by Florida State for the first time in her collegiate career.

Freshmen Sarah Halejian and Arrice Bryant also turned in strong performances for Yale. Halejian scored nine points, behind a 5-for-5 showing at the free-throw line. Bryant scored six points, grabbed nine rebounds, and blocked three shots.

Yale led by as many as 10 points in the first half thanks to a strong first half from sophomore Janna Graf. She scored all eight of her points in the half to help the Bulldogs cruise into the locker room at halftime with a 34-25 lead.

Army was not going to go away quietly, however. The Black Knights (6-8) opened the second half with a 13-3 run over the first 5:07 of the half to take their first lead of the game, 38-37, with 14:53 to play.

It was a seesaw battle the rest of the way. Neither team was able to gain an advantage of more than three points over the final 10 minutes of play.

Jen Hazlett also scored 17 points for Army. Milford, Conn., native Molly Yardley recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
NEW HAVEN – The schedule has not been kind to the Yale women’s basketball team. After playing six straight games on the road including a pair of contests against teams ranked in the Top 25, the Bulldogs finally returned home for a game against Boston University.
But the trip to New Haven also marked a homecoming of sorts for BU’s Chantell Alford and the former Wilbur Cross standout made several key plays in the final minutes to help the Terriers preserve a 59-54 win in a non-league game at the Lee Amphitheater Wednesday night.
Alford finished with eight points including a huge field goal with 42 seconds to play and later sealed the game with two free throws with 4 seconds left as Boston University staved off a furious Bulldog rally.
“I thought if we didn’t run the ball over we would have passed them,” Yale coach Chris Gobrecht said. “But we’ve got kids that just aren’t playing well right now and they have to play better.
“They have to do some soul-searching. The younger kids played OK but some of the older ones didn’t and they have to. It took us a while to get our land legs under us because we’ve been on the road for so long.”
The Bulldogs shot just 4 of 22 in the first half and trailed 30-14 at the break. But Megan Vazquez stepped up in the second half scoring 20 of her game-high 22 points in the second half as Yale cut the deficit to 56-54 with 11 seconds to play.
After BU hit one free throw Vazquez had a chance to tie the game with a long 3-pointer but it bounded off the rim and Alford corralled the rebounds and buried two free throws to seal it.
Alford, who entered the game leading the Terriers in scoring at 13.9 ppg., was limited to two points until the game’s final minutes. She suffered a leg injury early in the second half and did not return to the game until there was eight minutes left.
“The knee just locked up on me a bit but it’s fine now,” Alford said after the game. “We made some plays at crunch time and held on.”
Alford said the victory was even sweeter because it came in front of several of her family members and friends.
“It’s always nice to come back and play in New Haven,” she said. “Getting the win at Yale is just special.”
It was just the second game at home for Yale, which takes an 11-day break for final exams carrying a 4-4 mark.
“There’s no excuses,” Gobrecht said. “If we played them again I feel we should be all right but we didn’t play well tonight and when they got the lead, they’ve got a good point guard (Mo Moran) who controlled the tempo. “
Yale’s Janna Graf not only failed to score in the game but didn’t get a shot off. Graf, who has averaged double-figures since she arrived at the school, had three of the Bulldogs’ 22 turnovers.
“It wasn’t her type of game because we were attacking,” Gobrecht said. “She’s more of a half court player so she wasn’t in there.”
Yale got 12 points from Hayden Latham who had missed the previous week of practice and Gobrecht said was far from sharp.
“Even when we were out-playing them in the second half we sabotaged ourselves with foolish turnovers and foolish fouls.
Caroline Stewart led BU (3-4) with 14 points and 14 rebounds and Moran had 13 points.
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This is from the Associated Press on former UConn Recruit Elena Delle Donne who leads the country in scoring.

Yale plays against the superstar next week and last year I talked with Yale coach Chris Gobrecht she raved about what a wonderful player Delle Donne is.
A lot of the UConn beat reporters were down on her for leaving the school but she had her reasons and has since elevated Delaware into a Top 25 team and I applaud her for her efforts.

Here is the AP story:
By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer
Elena Delle Donne has vaulted the Delaware basketball program to new heights.
The 6-foot-5 star led the Blue Hens to their first Top 25 ranking, entering The Associated Press women’s college basketball poll Monday at No. 24. They will face Princeton on Thursday in their first game as a ranked team.
“It’s pretty neat we’re making history. Not just myself but my entire team,” she said. “It’s something we’ll be able to look back on forever.”
Delle Donne is a huge reason why the Blue Hens (4-0) are unbeaten and in the poll. They are 40-14 in her career when she’s in the lineup and 3-12 when she doesn’t play. She is leading the country in scoring averaging 30.2 points. The junior had 40 points in the school’s upset of then-No. 11 Penn State and had a 54-point game last season. She holds nine of the top 10 individual scoring games in school history.
“She is one of the top five players in the country period,” Delaware coach Tina Martin said. “She has done so much for our program.”
In a recent win over Villanova, Delle Donne had a “quiet” 22 points as she was constantly being double- and triple-teamed. Yet still she managed to hit the big shots or find the open teammate to propel Delaware to the victory.
“She’s like Larry Bird,” Villanova coach Harry Perretta said. “She may not be the fastest kid, or jump the highest, but she can beat you in so many ways. She’s so smart as a player.”
Much was made when Delle Donne decided to transfer to Delaware before her freshman year after spending a few days over the summer at UConn. She never regretted her choice to come home to the state where she starred in high school so that she could be closer to her older sister, Lizzie, who is blind, deaf and has cerebral palsy.
“Anywhere else I don’t know if this would be happening. It makes me extremely happy being at the University of Delaware.”
Delle Donne could pass Cindy Johnson as the school’s all-time leading scorer by the New Year if she keeps up her current pace. She’d probably already have it if she hadn’t missed a dozen games last season because of Lyme disease.
She says she’s completely healthy now, and it shows.
“I’m back and feel great. I worked really hard this summer with our strength and conditioning coach,” Delle Donne said. “He was able to transform my body and do a lot of things with me.”
Delle Donne spent part of her summer playing in the World University Games and helped the United States win a gold medal. That team featured some of the best players in the country, including three members of the preseason All-America team with Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame, Shekinna Stricklen of Tennessee and Nnemkadi Ogwumike of Stanford.
Yet it was Delle Donne who led the team in scoring and rebounding.
“It’s nice to go and play with those types of players and see what I can do and bring to that team,” she said. “I was able to be a force for that squad. My versatility was something that was able help the team get some wins. It was an amazing experience. I had some awesome players surrounding me.”
She left a lasting impression on coach Bill Fennelly.
“She could play at any level and there are not enough good words to say about Elena,” he said. “She’s one of the most talented kids I’ve ever been around. She was a fun kid to coach. She did everything we asked of her. She was a great teammate. As long as she maintains her love for the game, she has a great future in USA Basketball. She has the potential to be on the Olympic team. She’s that good.”
Delle Donne has a choice to make after this season because she would be eligible for the WNBA as her original class will have graduated. She deflected the decision.
“I really haven’t thought about it,” she said. “I’m a junior, that’s what I say to everyone. I do feel like I’ll be at the University of Delaware next year. You never know what can happen but you think about this year and trying to enjoy it.”
Delle Donne hopes that the season ends with an NCAA tournament bid for the Blue Hens. It’s something the school hasn’t received since 2007.
“That would mean everything,” she said beaming. “It’s always been my dream to play in the NCAA tournament. I think it would be a lot of fun getting there. You never know what can happen when you get to that tournament. It would be an incredible thing for us.”
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Follow Doug at http://twitter.com/dougfeinberg
AP-WF-11-28-11 1319EST