FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought Skyline Conference loss to Farmingdale State, 61-56, at the Nold Hall Athletic Complex on Tuesday evening. The Rams pick up their first victory of the season (1-7 overall, 1-4 Skyline), while the Maccabees fall to .500 at 5-5 (3-4 in the Skyline).

Senior guard Nicole Bick led all players with 27 points, while grabbing six boards and dishing out a pair of assists. Senior forward Michal Alge just fell shy of a double-double with nine points and a game-high 20 rebounds. Sophomore forward Lindsay Brandwein tied a season-best with nine points, while bringing down five caroms and forcing three steals.

The Maccabees fell behind early in the game, but a successful jump shot by Brandwein pulled YU to within two, at 9-7, with 3:22 remaining in the stanza. The Rams countered by scoring five unanswered points to extend their lead to 14-7. Alge halted the opposition's momentum by draining two shots from the charity stripe to pull her team to within five, at 14-9, with 33 seconds left in the period. Sophomore forward Kelsey Voiklis converted a layup for FSC with nine seconds to go, and then the quarter ended with Farmingdale up, 16-9.

After Farmingdale State scored a field goal to begin the second stanza, Yeshiva generated eight unanswered points to pull to within one, at 18-17. The highlight of the run was Alge converting a layup, while being fouled. She added a free throw to complete the traditional three-point play that pulled YU to within three at the time.

After the Rams' lead was narrowed to one, the home team countered with eight unanswered points to take a commanding 26-17 advantage. Farmingdale's defense held Yeshiva scoreless for 4:04. Bick ended the Macs' scoring drought with a layup, to pull YU to within seven, with 1:55 to play in the half. The two teams went into the intermission with Farmingdale State up, 29-19.

Yeshiva would not go down without a fight, in the third quarter. Trailing 32-23, Yeshiva rallied with seven straight points. Bick scored five of those points with a 3-point field goal and then a successful jump shot to narrow the home team's lead to 32-30, with 3:36 remaining in the period. However, Farmingdale finished the quarter strong, outscoring Yeshiva by a score 9-4 in the final 3:16 of the period, to go up 41-34 entering the fourth.

Alge and sophomore forward Celia Cohen combined for back-to-back field goals in the fourth, to pull YU to within three. Later in the stanza, Bick drilled a shot from beyond the arc to shrink the Rams' lead to 44-42, with 6:23 remaining in regulation. Farmingdale built a six-point lead, as a free throw by junior forward Christina Rayfield put YU down 54-48 with 1:18 left to play.

Bick willed the Macs back into the game, as she drained a 3-point field goal to slice YU's deficit in half, with 1:11 remaining in regulation time. After Farmingdale went up by five, Bick answered with another shot from beyond the arc to pull YU to within two, at 56-54, with 1:02 to go.

From that point on, the Maccabees intentionally fouled the Rams to send the home team to free throw line. After the Rams went back up by four, Bick was fouled and sent to the charity stripe. She converted on both shots to cut the opposition's lead to 58-56 with 31 seconds to go. That's as close as Yeshiva would get, as Farmingdale hit key free throws in the last half-minute and went on to win the game, 61-56.

For the game, Teigman produced five points with six rebounds. Cohen registered four points, brought down three boards, and had two steals, while sophomore guard Adina Rosenberg registered an assist. Second-year guard Chana Boltax tallied a carom. Senior guard Penny Rabin added two rebounds, a pair of assists, and a steal, while freshman forward Elizabeth Pavel clutched a rebound of her own.

For the Rams, senior guard Selena Lafranca had a team-high 19 points, while sophomore forward Alexis Hunter just fell short of a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Nia Miller generated 12 points with a game-high seven assists, while sophomore guard Jami Cardenas added 13 points.

Yeshiva will return to the ARC Arena on Thursday, for a Skyline Conference showdown against the United States Merchant Marine Academy, beginning at 8:00 p.m.