KINGS POINT, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team dropped the first game of its Skyline Conference schedule to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 72-40, at Liebertz Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

The Maccabees were led by Shai Rahamim who tallied 12 points, grabbed a pair of rebounds, tallied an assist, and forced a steal. Yuval Nitzan added 11 points, had a team-high three steals, and snatched two caroms. Daniella Rothman and Miriam Kazlow each clutched five rebounds and blocked a shot, with the former scoring four points and dishing out a pair of assists, while the latter netted two points.

Rothman opened the scoring for the evening with a layup off a feed from Rahamim. After Merchant Marine scored eight unanswered points, Nitzan drained a 3-point field goal and then converted a layup attempt on back-to-back possessions to pull the Maccabees to within one. However, the Mariners finished the opening quarter on a 13-3 run to take a commanding 21-10 hold after 10 minutes of play.

The Maccabees could not generate a sustained run to get back into the game as the Mariners pulled away for the league-opening victory.

Gabrielle Kupferman scored six points for the Maccabees, while Rebecca Malech had two points and three rebounds. Noa Berkowitz pulled down three boards and delivered a pair of assists, while Renee Benjamini added two points. Nina Yurovsky clutched two caroms.

For the Mariners, Grace Jackson led all players with 21 points, while grabbing eight rebounds, and forcing three steals. Madison Demos had a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with nine points and four steals. Madison Reddick netted 12 points.

Yeshiva's Skyline road trip continues Tuesday with a matchup at St. Joseph's College Long Island. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.