NEW YORK – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a setback on Tuesday evening, falling to Baruch College by a score of 83-63, at the ARC Arena. The Bearcats start the season 2-0, while the Maccabees fall to 1-1.
Leading the way for the Macs was senior forward Tehilla Teigman, who produced a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds, while leading all players with five steals. Junior forward Lindsay Brandwein tallied 13 points, while grabbing five boards. Freshman guard Yuval Nitzan also scored 13 points, while dishing out a pair of assists and clutching just as many caroms.
The Maccabees got off to a good start, as a layup by senior guard Chana Boltax off a fast break gave the Blue and White an 8-4 advantage, less than four minutes into the contest. Baruch countered with nine straight points to take the lead for good, 13-8, with 3:20 to go in the first period. Yeshiva got closer later in the period, as a 3-point field goal by sophomore guard Jessie Orgel narrowed Baruch's lead to 21-19. After the visiting team extended its lead to four, Nitzan drained a shot from beyond the arc to shrink Yeshiva's deficit to 23-22. However, sophomore guard Valsenia Michie countered with a 3-pointer of her own, with eight ticks on the clock, to give the Bearcats a 26-22 hold after 10 minutes of play.
Less than three minutes into the second period, Orgel successfully shot another 3-point basket to pull YU to within one, at 28-27. Orgel struck again, later in the period, as her jump shot narrowed Baruch's lead to 35-34 with 5:02 left in the half. From that point on, Baruch took over the game by scoring 10 unanswered points to take a 45-34 advantage, with 2:13 remaining until the break. The two teams went into the locker rooms with the Bearcats up, 51-39.
Baruch led by as many as 24 in the second half. Yeshiva could not generate a consistent run to get back into the contest, as the Bearcats went on to win the non-conference game by a score of 83-63.
For the Maccabees, Orgel scored nine points, grabbed two rebounds, and collected just as many steals. Boltax added six points with a pair of rebounds.
For the Bearcats, junior guard Melinda Spahiu tallied a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while dishing out a game-high six assists. Sophomore guard Nia Dawson led all players with 23 points, and grabbed six rebounds, while junior forward Daniela Zirpolo scored 14 points and brought down just as many boards.
Yeshiva will travel to Purchase, N.Y. on Tuesday, to take on new Skyline foe Manhattanville College at Kennedy Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m.