PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team got off to a strong start at Manhattanville College, on Thursday evening, but it was not enough as the Maccabees fell to the Valiants by a score of 71-42 at Kennedy Gymnasium.

YU led by as many as four in the first quarter, and held a lead late in the half, but the Valiants finished the second quarter strong and continued the momentum in the final 20 minutes of the contest to secure the Skyline victory.

Junior Daniella Rothman had a double-double for the third straight game for the Maccabees, and now has six for the season, with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. She also dished out four assists and blocked three shots. Sophomore Shai Rahamim had 11 points with three assists, while junior Yuval Nitzan netted nine points, distributed a game-best six assists, grabbed three rebounds, and forced two steals. Classmate Gabrielle Kupferman added six points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Yeshiva pushed second-place Manhattanville to the limit early as a 3-point field goal by Rahamim gave the Maccabees the lead, 11-8, with 3:38 to go in the opening quarter. After the Valiants pulled to within one, Rahamim received the pass from Nitzan and nailed another shot from beyond the arc to increase the Macs' advantage to 14-10 with less than two minutes to go in the opening stanza. Manhattanville sliced its deficit in half but Nitzan helped Yeshiva close the quarter strong by sinking a free throw with one second left to give the Blue and White a 15-12 benefit after 10 minutes of play.

Manhattanville came storming out of the gate in the second quarter by scoring the first six points to jump out to an 18-12 lead with 7:26 to go in the half. The Maccabees would not let the opposition's early run faze them as Kupferman and Rothman combined for back-to-back layups to help Yeshiva jump back in the lead, 19-18, with 5:55 to go until the break. After the Valiants went in front, Rahamim buried a jump shot to give Yeshiva the 21-20 benefit with 4:04 remaining in the opening half. Manhattanville finished the quarter strong by scoring the final seven points, capped off by a successful jumper from freshman Niyona Smith, to put Yeshiva in a 27-21 hole at the intermission.

Manhattanville began the third quarter by extending its lead to eight. Yeshiva fought back as back-to-back layups from Nitzan and Kupferman pulled YU to within four, at 29-25, with 7:56 left in the third.

From that point on, the Valiants took over the game by going on a 14-3 run to take a commanding 43-28 hold with 3:37 left in the period. Yeshiva could not generate a consistent run to get back into the game as Manhattanville inflated its lead throughout the remainder of the contest to earn the conference victory.

For the Maccabees, junior Renee Benjamini had four points and five rebounds, while senior Miriam Kazlow netted two points.

For the Valiants, graduate student Spencer Shore led all players with 18 points, while grabbing four rebounds, forcing just as many steals, and distributing three assists. Senior Ali Mikaele had a double-double with 12 points and 12 boards. Classmate Claudia Valentin added 13 points.

Yeshiva will host the United States Merchant Marine Academy, in a key Skyline contest at the Peter Jay Sharp Center, on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.