BROOKLYN – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking Skyline Conference loss to St. Joseph's University Brooklyn, 57-53, at The Hill Center on Thursday evening.

Yeshiva (3-6, 3-5 Skyline) led by as many as 14 in the second half, and nine in the fourth quarter, but St. Joseph's Brooklyn (4-4, 2-2 Skyline) came storming back by outscoring Yeshiva 19-7 in the final 10 minutes, which includes the Bears hitting the game-winning free throws in the closing minute, to earn the league victory.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was senior guard Yuval Nitzan who had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, while grabbing eight rebounds and forcing three steals. Sophomore guard Daniella Bessler generated eight points, a game-high 16 rebounds, and a pair of assists. Junior guard Shai Rahamim had a team-high 12 points with four rebounds and an assist. Senior forward Daniella Rothman had a near double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while collecting two steals and blocking a shot.

The Maccabees fell behind early in the contest, 5-2, but responded by scoring six unanswered points, capped off by a jump shot from Bessler to put the Macs in front, 8-5, with 4:02 left to play in the opening quarter. Later in the stanza, with the game tied at nine points apiece, Bessler grabbed a defensive rebound and threw an outlet pass to Nitzan, who ran up and converted the layup to allow the Blue and White to regain the advantage with one minute remaining. Sophomore guard Abigail Koenig concluded the scoring for the period by successfully executing a layup of her own to extend the Macs' benefit to 13-9, and that would be the score after 10 minutes of play.

YU's strong finish to the first period carried over into the second, as Nitzan kicked the ball out to Rahamim, who drained a triple to inflate the Macs' lead to 16-9, less than a minute into the stanza. In the middle stages of the quarter, Nitzan dished the ball to Rothman who nailed a jumper to give the the Blue and White a 25-17 benefit with 5:34 left before the break. The Bears scored five of the game's next eight points to pull to within six. Yeshiva was able to finish the half on a strong note, as Bessler grabbed an offensive rebound off a blocked shot and then cashed in on a layup attempt, with three ticks left on the clock, to increase the Maccabees' vantage to 30-22. That would be the tally at the intermission.

The Macs opened the scoring, 16 seconds into the second half, as Nitzan found Rahamim who drained a triple to give the Maccabees a 33-22 hold. Just under two minutes later, Nitzan drained a shot from downtown to give YU a commanding 38-24 hold with 7:59 left in the third. The Bears gained the momentum by going on a 14-6 run to slice YU's lead to 44-38 with 1:12 left in the period. The Maccabees put a halt to the Bears' momentum as Nitzan sprinted with the ball and found Koenig, who converted a layup off the fast break to put Yeshiva back up by eight, at 46-38, with 42 seconds left in the third quarter. That was the score heading into the final period of regulation time.

St. Joseph's Brooklyn came storming out of the gate in the fourth, opening the stanza on a 6-1 run to cut Yeshiva's lead to 47-44 with 7:21 left to play in regulation time. After YU called a timeout, the Bears got a stop and then sophomore guard Alexis Breen tied the game with a 3-point field goal with 6:39 left to play. Yeshiva got back on track as Nitzan fed the ball to Rothman who buried a key midrange jumper to give the Macs the vantage back, 49-47, with 5:48 remaining. St. Joseph's surged again by scoring the next four points, capped off by a layup from senior center Emma Kiley, to give the Bears the lead at 51-49 with 3:36 to go.

St. Joseph's got a stop on the next possession, but Nitzan forced a steal and then found Rahamim, who converted a layup to tie the game at 51 with 2:03 remaining. Yeshiva forced a stop on the next possession and then Nitzan drained a jumper to give YU a 53-51 benefit with 1:31 remaining.

However, St. Joseph's tied the game at 53, thanks to a pair of free throws from junior forward Destiny Hurt, with 1:16 to go. Yeshiva committed a turnover on the next possession and then was charged with a foul to send Breen to the free throw line with 48 seconds left. She missed the first, but the connected on the second, to give the Bears a narrow 54-53 lead.

YU had a couple of opportunities to retake the advantage but could not capitalize. With 19 seconds to go, St. Joseph's padded its lead to three thanks to a pair of free throws from Kiley. Yeshiva had an opportunity to tie it with a 3-pointer, with 14 seconds left, but could not connect. Freshman guard Aaniya Telford of St. Joseph's was fouled intentionally and earned a trip to the free throw line. She drained a key shot from the charity stripe that made it a two-possession game, with five seconds left, which clinched the win for the Bears.

For the Maccabees, Koenig and senior Gabrielle Kupferman each scored six points, with the latter grabbing four rebounds and delivering three assists.

For the Bears, Kiley had a double-double with 22 points and 14 rebounds, while delivering three assists.

Yeshiva will travel to Long Island on Sunday for a Skyline battle against SUNY Old Westbury. The game will take place on the campus of Farmingdale State College beginning at 11:00 a.m.