BROOKLYN – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought Skyline Conference contest to St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, 91-79, at The Hill Center on Tuesday evening.

Junior Yuval Nitzan had a big game, scoring a team-high 28 points and went 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. She also forced three steals. Sophomore Shai Rahamim netted a career-best 24 points, while grabbing five rebounds and distributing four assists. Junior Daniella Rothman had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while blocking three shots.

The Bears led from wire-to-wire and had a 33-22 advantage after 10 minutes of play. With the Maccabees down, 51-36, in the closing seconds of the first half, Nitzan buried a jumper with three ticks left on the clock to pull YU to within 13 heading into the break.

Yeshiva fell behind, 68-48, with 4:30 left to play in the third quarter. Rahamin buried a 3-point field goal that sparked 10 unanswered points by the Maccabees. Nitzan capped off the run with a successful shot from downtown to narrow YU's deficit to 68-58 with 2:34 remaining in the period. St. Joseph's Brooklyn went back up by 14, but Nitzan and Rothman countered with back-to-back layups in the final minute to pull YU to within 10, at 72-62, after 30 minutes of play.

Rothman opened the scoring in the fourth quarter by nailing a jumper to pull the Blue and White to within eight, but the Bears scored the next four points to go back up by 12. Yeshiva pulled to within 10 on three separate occasions throughout the final period of regulation time but could not generate a consistent rally to get back into the game. St. Joseph's Brooklyn went on to win the conference matchup, 91-79.

For the Maccabees, junior Gabrielle Kupferman tallied seven points, seven rebounds, and a pair of assists. Senior Miriam Kazlow had a solid game by nailing a 3-point field goal, grabbing five boards, dishing out three assists, and forcing two steals. Junior Renee Benjamini had two points and snatched four rebounds.

For the Bears, senior Kelly O'Donnell had a double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds, while delivering six assists. Junior Emma Kiley also had a double-double with 22 points and 14 boards.

Yeshiva will host Mount Saint Mary College, on the campus of New Jersey City University, on Thursday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.