PURCHASE, NY - Capturing their first Skyline win since their last victory over the Panthers nearly a month ago, the Yeshiva women's basketball team defeated Purchase College, downing the Panthers by a score of 78-69 on Sunday, Dec. 10.
Putting the team on her back, senior leader
Daniella Bessler posted yet another otherworldly statline up against Purchase, tallying a season-high 37 points alongside 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals, securing both a double-double and the win in the process.
Also holding their own out on the court, both
Yuval Nitzan (18) and
Shai Rahamim (11) notched double-digit point totals, while
Hannah Rashty helped lock down the glass with nine rebounds.
With the win, the Maccabees are now 4-7, 3-4 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- While a quick Rahamim triple opened the scoring and gave the Macs their first lead of the game, Purchase would strike right back quickly, snatching the advantage out of YU's hands. Yeshiva would not manage to retake their edge throughout the quarter, but stayed hot on the Panthers' tails. The Macs never allowed Purchase to go up by more than four, as both squads went into the break tied at 17-all thanks to a last second Bessler jump shot.
- After briefly retaking the lead and then losing it again at the start of the second quarter, YU solidified their advantage at 22-20 off of a big Rahamim three with 8:10 remaining, an edge that they would not forfeit throughout the rest of the period. Purchase continued to fight, yet were outpaced by Bessler's offensive expertise, with the Macs leading by eight points at 38-30 once the halftime horn sounded.
- Coming out of the break on fire, Yeshiva continued to grow their margin, extending their lead out to 10 thanks to points from Bessler and Jasmin Maly-Danker early on in the third quarter. Despite YU's significant advantage, Purchase continued to claw, chipping away at Yeshiva's margin over the following minutes. The Macs saw the score tied twice at 53-all and 55-all before Purchase were able to briefly edge ahead of them at 57-55. Yeshiva reigned their opponents back in in the final minutes of play, as both teams closed out the quarter deadlocked at 59-59.
- Looking to put away a contest that they felt they had every right to win, the Macs kicked down the door to the fourth and final quarter, going on an 11-2 run over the first three minutes to seize back their lead and rocket it out to 70-61. Leaving their opponents without any answers as the Panthers only managed 10 points in the final 10 minutes, Yeshiva allowed their air-raid offense to close out the game, leaving Purchase with a 78-69 victory.
MAC LEADERS
- Points: Bessler (37), Nitzan (18), Rahamim (11)
- Assists: Nitzan (7), Rahamim (6), Bessler (4)
- Rebounds: Bessler (11), Rashty (9), Maly-Danker (8)
- Steals: Bessler (4), Nitzan (3), Rahamim (2)
- Blocks: Nitzan (1)
UP NEXT
Kicking off the week on the road, the Macs will travel to Old Westbury on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 7:00 PM.
