NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest to Goucher College, 79-76, at the ARC Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Gophers advance to 5-6, while the Maccabees drop to 6-9.

Leading the way for Yeshiva was senior forward Michal Alge, who scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed a game-best 18 rebounds. The Boston native went 11-for-13 from the free throw line, forced three steals, and blocked a shot. Senior guard Nicole Bick produced 18 points, dished out seven assists, clutched two boards, and forced a pair of steals. Junior forward Tehilla Teigman recorded 16 points with seven rebounds.

YU trailed for the majority of the first quarter, but a successful jump shot by Teigman gave YU a 13-12 advantage, with 1:29 left to play. After the Gophers regained the lead, Teigman found Bick, who executed a layup to propel YU to a one-point benefit, at 15-14, with 27 ticks left on the clock. Goucher scored the last four points of the period to grab an 18-15 hold after 10 minutes of play.

Yeshiva scored eight unanswered points, highlighted by a 3-point shot from sophomore guard Chana Boltax and a layup by Bick, to take a 25-20 advantage with 6:48 remaining in the half. Goucher countered with an 8-2 run to go up by one.

Alge would disrupt the opposing team's momentum by laying the ball up and in, while being fouled. She drained the shot from the charity stripe to complete the three-point play and give YU a 30-28 hold with 3:24 to go. Alge would strike again, on Yeshiva's next possession, by taking a feed from sophomore guard Adina Rosenberg and executing another layup while being fouled. The fourth-year forward was able to add the free throw for her second consecutive three-point play and extend the home team's lead to 33-28.

After the Gophers scored six straight points to go up by one, Boltax successfully executed another shot from beyond the arc to put the home team up by a score of 36-34, with 1:38 left in the half. Goucher scored the last four points to take a 38-36 advantage into the intermission.

YU got off to a slow start in the third quarter, falling behind 51-44. The Blue and White generated momentum, thanks to back-to-back layups by Alge and Bick, to pull to within two with 1:59 remaining in the stanza. After Goucher extended its lead to four, it was déjà vu for Alge as she once again performed a layup, while drawing a foul. She added a free throw for her third three-point play of the game and pull YU to within one with 1:16 left in the third. Bick nailed a jump shot to give the Maccabees a narrow 54-53 advantage, and that would be the score after 30 minutes of play.

With Yeshiva down 62-60 in the fourth, Teigman tied the game with a putback. The visiting team responded with four straight points to go up, 66-62, with 5:14 remaining in regulation time. Later in the period, Bick hit a jump shot to pull YU to within three, at 71-68, with 2:54 remaining. After Goucher went back up by five, Bick and Teigman combined for back-to-back field goals to pull the home team to within one, at 73-72, with 1:36 left to play.

Junior guard Kerry Chun drained a key jump shot, with less than a minute to go, to put Goucher back up by three. After Yeshiva was unable to score on the next possession, freshman guard Anise Williams was fouled intentionally with 37 ticks left on the clock. She went 1-for-2 from the line to put the Gophers up by two possessions. The visiting team was able to get stops on the defensive end and built a 79-72 lead. The Maccabees scored the last four points of the contest, but it was not enough as the Gophers went on to earn the non-conference win, 79-76.

For the Maccabees, sophomore forward Lindsay Brandwein added two points with six boards, while classmate Celia Cohen grabbed a pair of rebounds of her own. Boltax finished with nine points, while Rosenberg added two points. Senior guard Penny Rabin clutched three caroms, while sophomore guard Leah Shulman added two boards. Junior forward Ellie Parker and freshman forward Elizabeth Pavel each had a rebound.

For the Gophers, Williams scored 27 points with 13 rebounds and three steals, while freshman guard Alayna McFadden also produced a double-double with 23 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

The Maccabees will take a break and then return to action on Sunday, January 27, with a Skyline Conference contest at St. Joseph's College Long Island. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.