(New York, NY) - Sophomore Shir Fuchs (Herzeliya, Israel/Hayovel) scored a career-high 17 points, hitting three out of four three-points in the process, and fellow sophomores Avigail Varnai (Skokie, IL/ICJA) and Renee Ashkenazi (Deal, NJ/Hillel Yeshiva) had outstanding games as the Yeshiva University Women's Basketball team turned in one of its finest efforts of the 2008-09 season, falling 71-63 to conference powerhouse Purchase College during a Tuesday night Skyline Conference clash at Baruch College. With the loss, Yeshiva is now 2-13 overall and 0-11 in Skyline Conference play.
Less than two months after falling to Purchase by 43 points, Yeshiva took to the court undeterred on Tuesday night, even when the visiting Panthers took an early 10-4 lead. The Maccabees battled back to quickly make it 12-10 and finally tied the score at 16 after a Varnai jumper with 12:01 remaining in the first half, and then took an 18-16 lead with 11:20 to play after Fuchs found Ashkenazi with a fantastic pass underneath the basket. Later on in the half, runs of 8-0 and 12-3 put Yeshiva ahead by as many as nine points, 32-23 with 5:38 to play, but Purchase responded with a 19-2 run to close the half, and took a 42-34 lead into the break.
Despite the tough finish to the first half, Yeshiva refused to go away. A Varnai three-pointer to open the second half brought the deficit to five points, and a battle was on. Yeshiva kept chipping away, and when Fuchs converted three free-throws with 9:25 to play in the game, Yeshiva trailed only 55-54. However, Purchase responded with an 11-1 run to extend the lead to double digits once again before a late Yeshiva rally made it an eight-point game, but time ran out on the Maccabees, who turned in one of their best all-around efforts of the season.
Fuchs was outstanding, scoring 10 of her 17 points during the second half and adding three assists and three rebounds. Also for YU, Varnai continued her incredible rookie campaign, scoring 16 points and adding five assists four rebounds, and two steals. Ashkenazi notched the first double-double of her career, scoring 12 points (on 5 for 6 shooting) and adding 13 rebounds. YU received a terrific effort from senior Tova Laufer (New York, NY/Ramaz), who chipped in eight points, seven rebounds, and three steals.
Overall, Purchase held a slight shooting and rebounding advantage, shooting 39% from the floor compared to Yeshiva's 36%, and the Panthers grabbed 49 rebounds compared to Yeshiva's 45. The Maccabees did a spectacular job stopping Purchase's terrific outside shooting game as the Panthers were only 4 for 18 from three-point range.
Yeshiva returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 29 when the Maccabees travel to St. Elizabeth for an 8:00 p.m. Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) game.
Click here for video highlights of the Yeshiva-St. Elizabeth Women's Basketball game.
