Yale 53, Saint Peter's 45: Ray Floriani's Photo Essay

Jersey City, NJ ­- A coach can dutifully prepare for an opponent: Review tape, study statistics and trends. Offenses, defenses, special plays are dissected. A game plan is built and taught to the team. Preparation can border on perfection with every detail addressed. In the end, it comes down to execution.

Preparation can be controlled by the coaching staff, execution not as much. This point was driven home in the Yale win over Saint Peter's in a women’s game Tuesday at the Yanitelli Center. The visitors from the Ivy League posted a 53-45 victory, with the game decided in the stretch. With the game on the line and minutes dwindling, Saint Peter's missed a few free throws, as well as box outs. The latter allowed Yale to rebound and extend possessions at crunch time. Again, execution, or lack of it.

That was the most frustrating aspect to Saint Peter's coach Pat Coyle: The fact the team was prepared, competed and in a position to secure a victory. Especially disheartening was the fact they failed to do things (free throws and box outs) that were under their control.

It is one of the toughest parts of coaching. As said, having your team thoroughly prepared only to come up short due to a flaw in execution. Something you can get ready for, but in the end as you take your spot on the sideline, you cannot completely control.

The day started with an officiating assignment at McNair High School in Jersey City, home of the Cougars and alma mater of friend of the site Jason Guerette:

Teresa Corchado in the defensive stance:

Officials Michael Henderson, Ron DePasquale and Shaolin Crawford huddle to discuss a play:

Hala Mostafa of Saint Peter's looks to inbound as Whitney Wyckoff of Yale defends:

Saint Peter's coach Pat Coyle studies the action:

Yale coach Chris Gobrecht, not thrilled with the proceedings:

After the final buzzer, Saint Peter's huddles, with Pat Coyle in the background: