(Troy, NY) - Freshman Daniella Barber (Seattle, WA/Northwest Yeshiva) scored a career-high 14 points and added 15 rebounds for her first career double-double, and senior Tova Laufer (New York, NY/Ramaz) had a monster game with 20 points, 19 rebounds, and three assists, but the Yeshiva University Women's Basketball team lost its fifth straight game, 68-61 in overtime to Sage College on Sunday afternoon. With the loss, YU is now 1-6 overall and 0-5 in Skyline Conference play.
The first half was neck-and-neck throughout much of the stanza as after an early five-point lead for Yeshiva, neither team led by more than two points until the very end of the half. A Barber free-throw with 2:53 remaining in the half tied the score at 23, but Sage managed two baskets during the closing minutes of the first half to take a 27-23 lead into the break.
Yeshiva quickly erased the deficit early in the second half as Barber and Avigai Varnai (Skokie, IL/ICJA) scored consecutive baskets to tie the score at 27, and after Barber hit a free throw to give YU a one-point lead, a wild remainder of the game ensued as the final 19:41 saw 10 ties and six lead changes. A Laufer jump shot with 1:06 remaining gave Yeshiva a 58-56 lead, but two Sage free throws tied the score with 52 seconds remaining in the game. The final 10 seconds saw Sage miss two open shots, and Yeshiva missed an opportunity at the buzzer that would have sent YU home the winner, and the game went into overtime.
After Barber fouled out only 14 seconds into the overtime, a Laufer jumper put YU up 60-58. However, from there, Sage scored seven straight points to make it a 65-60 game. After a Laufer free throw made it 65-61 with 1:52 remaining, Laufer fouled out, leaving YU with four players on the floor for the game's final minutes. YU was unable to muster a comeback playing short-handed.
Aside from Barber's and Laufer's heroics, three Maccabees scored eight points apiece, incuding junior Lauren Kempin (Fairlawn, NJ/Frisch), who had eight points, seven rebounds, five blocked shots, and three steals. Also for YU, Varnai had eight points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Yeshiva returns to action on Thursday, Dec. 11 when the Maccabees host SUNY Old Westbury for a 6:00 p.m. game at Baruch College. The game will be followed by the Yeshiva men's team playing at Baruch at 8:00 p.m.
