NEW YORK - The Yeshiva University women's basketball team earned a come-from-behind victory over Berkeley College N.Y., 63-45, at Nat Holman Gymnasium on Thursday evening.

The Maccabees (6-7) were behind by seven in the early stages of the game, and then trailed by one heading into the final period of regulation time. However, Yeshiva surged in the fourth quarter by outscoring Berkeley (1-16), 26-7, during the final 10 minutes of the contest to earn the comeback win.

Leading the way for there Macs was junior guard Shai Rahamim who scored a game-high 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field, and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. The Ramat Gan native also forced six steals and grabbed four rebounds. She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including three triples during YU's big run that put the game out of reach for the opposition and secured the come-for-behind victory for the Blue and White. 

Senior guard Yuval Nitzan also had a strong night for the Maccabees as she netted 12 points, delivered six assists, clutched four boards, and collected three steals. Junior guard Daniella Bessler generated 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Senior forward Daniella Rothman produced eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and blocked two shots.

Yeshiva got off to a slow start in the game, falling behind by a score of 6-0. Rahamim was then bumped while attempting to shoot a 3-point shot and was awarded three shots from the charity stripe. She connected on all three free throws for YU's first points in the evening, which also sliced the deficit in half, with 5:23 remaining in the opening quarter. 

With Yeshiva behind, 8-3, Nitzan took a feed from Rahamim and drained a triple for Yeshiva's first field goal during the contest to pull the Macs to within two with 3:53 to go in the first quarter. The Knights responded with a 7-2 run to take their largest lead of the evening, at 15-8, with 11 seconds left in the period. In the closing seconds, Nitzan found sophomore guard Abigail Koenig who converted a layup with three seconds left that narrowed YU's deficit to 15-10. That would be the score after 10 minutes of play. 

The Macs' momentum carried over into the second quarter as they scored the first six points of the stanza to jump out in front, 16-15, 2:30 in. Bessler began the run with a layup, and concluded it with a pair of free throws that gave the Maccabees their first lead of the evening. However, a 6-2 run by Berkeley gave the home team a 21-18 advantage with 3:45 to go in the frame. 

Yeshiva closed out the first half strong by scoring the final seven points in the stanza. During YU's strong first-half finish, Rothman successfully executed a layup that tied the game at 21 with 1:34 to go. In the closing seconds of the period, senior forward Gabrielle Kupferman nailed a jumper to give the Blue and White a 23-21 advantage with seven ticks left on the clock. Rahamim then intercepted the inbound pass and converted a quick layup in the blink of an eye, extending the Maccabees' benefit to 25-21 with just three seconds left. That would be the score at the intermission. 

Nitzan opened the third quarter with a triple that increased YU's advantage to 28-21, just nine seconds in. Berkeley countered with a 6-2 run to narrow the Macs' vantage to three. Yeshiva disrupted the opposition's momentum as Nitzan tipped the ball to freshman guard Jasmin Maly-Danker who buried a wide-open shot from downtown to pad Yeshiva's lead to 33-27 with 4:46 to go in the stanza. 

Berkeley gained the momentum right back by going on a 8-1 run to retake the lead, 35-34, with 2:06 to go. Nitzan answered with a triple to put YU back in front. The Knights struck back as senior forward Amal Mahmoud was able to execute a layup, while being fouled. She added the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play to give Berkeley the advantage again, 38-37, with 1:26 to go. That would be the score heading to the final regulation period. 

Koenig got the Maccabees going in the fourth quarter by converting a layup to put her team back up by one. After Berkeley tied the game with a free throw, Yeshiva turned the tide with seven unanswered points to take a 46-39 hold with 7:14 left to play. Rothman capped off that blitz with a layup. 

Berkeley did manage to pull to within five a couple of times, but then Rahamim highlighted a 13-0 YU run by draining three triples in a span of 2:56 to inflate Yeshiva's cushion to 61-43 with 2:45 remaining. Yeshiva went on to win the contest, 63-45.

For the Maccabees, Koenig had six points and just as many rebounds. Kupferman grabbed seven boards, while rookie guard Mia Denti brought down four rebounds of her own.

For the Knights, Mahmoud had a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while forcing four steals and dishing out three assists.

Yeshiva will have another non-conference game on Monday against Pratt Institute. Tipoff at Pratt Athletic and Recreation Center is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.