BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss to Sarah Lawrence College, 55-54, at the Campbell Sports Center on Thursday evening.

The Skyline matchup came down to the wire. With the game tied, 53-53, with less than a minute to go, sophomore Kendall Haymore grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed shot and then successfully converted the putback layup to give the Gryphons a 55-53 edge with 46 ticks left on the clock.

With nine-tenths of a second remaining, Yeshiva inbounded the ball with one more chance to win but could not get a shot off.

It was a back-and-forth game with seven ties and six lead changes.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was junior Yuval Nitzan who just missed a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds, while dishing out four assists and forcing just as many steals. Second-year player Daniella Rothman led all players with 22 rebounds, while scoring six points, blocking two shots, and collecting a pair of steals. Sophomore Shai Rahamim netted 12 points and clutched six boards.

In the opening quarter, neither team had more than a four-point lead. With seven seconds left in the period, Nitzan buried a jump shot to tie the game at 14 points apiece and that would be the score after 10 minutes of play.

Yeshiva got off to a hot start in the second quarter, as a layup by Rahamim began a 12-0 to start the stanza, capped off by a jumper from junior Renee Benjamini to give the Maccabees a 26-14 advantage with 7:21 left to play in the half. Sarah Lawrence answered with a 7-2 run to narrow YU's benefit to 28-21 with 5:33 left to play until the break. The Gryphons outscored the Maccabees, 5-4, during the remainder of the period to shrink the Macs' lead to 32-26 at the intermission.

Yeshiva extended its cushion to eight on three occasions during the third quarter, with the third time courtesy of a successful jump shot from Benjamini to pad the Macs' advantage to 39-31 with 8:03 to go. However, the tables turned as the Gryphons scored 14 unanswered points in a span of 5:40 to jump out to a 45-39 lead. The Maccabees managed to pull to within four before the period expired.

Nitzan opened the fourth quarter by converting a shot from downtown to shrink YU's deficit to 48-44. After the Gryphons countered with a 3-pointer of their own, Yeshiva took momentum back by scoring seven straight points to tie the game at 51 points apiece. Senior Rebecca Malech began the run with a layup and then Nitzan capped it off with a jumper to tie it with 4:09 to go.

First-year player Kumi Tamura successfully executed a jump shot to allow the Gryphons to retake the lead, 53-51. On Yeshiva's next possession, Nitzan once again tied the game with a jumper. Both teams were held scoreless for the next 2:27. Haymore broke the drought with a layup that put YU in a two-point hole with 46 seconds to go. Nitzan got Yeshiva to within one, thanks to a free throw, with 34 seconds remaining.

On Sarah Lawrence's next possession, the Maccabees' strong defense led to a missed shot from the home team but Haymore grabbed a key offensive rebound to drain more seconds off the clock. Yeshiva was able to get the ball back with less than a second left, but could not get a potential game-winning shot off as Sarah Lawrence was able to hang on to earn the narrow 55-54 Skyline victory.

For the Maccabees, Benjamini scored seven points and had just as many rebounds. Junior Gabrielle Kupferman had five points and seven caroms, while senior Miriam Kazlow gathered seven rebounds of her own. Malech had three points and just as many boards.

For the Gryphons, Haymore had 15 points and nine rebounds. Tamura netted 14 points, while junior Jordyn Medina just missed a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Kimiko Katzaroff had 10 points.

Yeshiva will return to Skyline play on Sunday, by hosting College of Mount Saint Vincent, on the campus of Maritime College in Throggs Neck, N.Y. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.