After a short vacation, the Bears resumed their winter season Dec. 29, playing five non-conference games and a two-game series against Yale to kick off Ivy League play.
Over the course of winter break, the Bears (10-6, 1-1 Ivy) won four straight games against the University of Vermont (8-13), Dominican University of California (2-15), San Jose State (7-11) and the University of Rhode Island (1-19). But in their final non-conference match of the season, the Bears fell to Holy Cross (13-8).
"We're very confident in what we can do now," said guard Sheila Dixon '13. "We've seen that when we play really well, we do really well."
At the end of December, the Bears traveled to California to play San Jose State, giving a few players an opportunity to go home to their families for longer than usual.
"We have a lot of teammates from California," said forward Jordin Juker '14. "So our coach wanted to go before they graduate — it was a great experience."
Even 3,000 miles away from its home court, Bruno had plenty of fans cheering in the stands.
"The amount of support from the friends and families — I think we had between 400 and 500 fans — it was amazing and a great win," Dixon said.
But Bruno's winning streak was broken in its first Ivy League game Jan. 13, as they fell 75-65 against Yale at the Pizzitola Center. Despite three Bears scoring in the double digits, the Bulldogs' (9-7, 1-1) defense proved too much for the Bears. Dixon led Brown in points with 20 and shot 60 percent from the field. Guard Lauren Clarke '14 and co-captain Hannah Passafuime '12 followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"Yale plays a smothering defense," said Head Coach Jean Burr. "It was a tight battle throughout."
The Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers from the Bears.
A week later, Bruno had a chance for a rematch at Yale — the team got their revenge, picking up a 60-55 win.
"The second time, it was less about offense and definitely a lot more about defense," Dixon said. "We were able to recognize their key players and actually stop them."
Clarke led the Bears with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. For her excellent performance in the Yale series, Clarke was named the Ivy League Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Ivy League Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
Clarke "stepped up in the heat of the moment," Burr said. "She really wanted the ball."
This weekend, the Bears will travel first to Dartmouth and then to Harvard for two more conference matchups.
