NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team dropped its Skyline Conference contest to first-place Mount Saint Mary College, 76-52, at the Kaplan Center on Tuesday evening. The Maccabees drop to 4-9 in the Skyline (6-9 overall), while the Knights advance to 13-1 in league contests (15-3 for the season).

After trailing by as many as 13 points in the opening half, the Maccabees rallied to pull to within three, at 34-31, with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Knights regained momentum by going on a 16-2 run to put the game out of reach for YU.

Rookie phenom Daniella Bessler once again had a strong game for Yeshiva, producing the first double-double of her collegiate career with 18 points and 12 rebounds. The Brookline native also dished out four assists and shot 8-for-14 from the field. Sophomore Shai Rahamim also scored 18 points, while grabbing six boards and forcing two steals. Junior Renee Benjamini had a solid game off the bench by netting seven points and snatching five rebounds.

The Maccabees got off to a sluggish start, falling behind 15-2. YU was able to chip away at the deficit and finish the opening quarter strong as a 3-point field goal by Rahamim with 16 ticks on the clock shrunk the opposition's lead to 21-11. That would be the score after 10 minutes of play.

The Macs' momentum carried over into the second quarter as Rahamim nailed a jumper to narrow YU's deficit to 21-17 with 6:53 left before the break. After the home team inflated its lead to 25-19, graduate student Miriam Kazlow buried a jumper off a feed from Bessler to pull, once again, the Blue and White to within four with 3:34 remaining in the half. The Knights answered by scoring the last three points of the stanza to take a seven-point lead into the intermission. YU's defense held its first-place opponent to just seven points in the second quarter. 

With Yeshiva down by eight, Bessler buried a basket from deep to shrink Mount Saint Mary's advantage 30-25, less than a minute into the second half. The Knights countered by scoring the next four points to go back up by nine. The Maccabees would not go down quietly as a 3-point field goal, plus three free throws, by Rahamim (off two trips to the charity stripe) pulled Yeshiva to within three, at 34-31, with 5:31 left to play in the third quarter. Unfortunately for the Blue and White, Mount Saint Mary regained control of the contest by scoring 10 unanswered points to pad its hold to 44-31 with 1:44 remaining in the period. YU ended up trailing by 16 after 30 minutes of play.

Yeshiva could not get back into the game during the fourth quarter as they were outscored by MSMC, 24-16, during the final frame. The Knights went on to earn their 12^th conference victory of the season.

For Yeshiva, first-year player Kira Elbaum scored two points and brought down six rebounds. Junior Daniella Rothman had two points, five boards, and a pair of blocked shots. Kazlow recorded four points and three rebounds.  

For Mount Saint Mary, graduate student Morina Bojka had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while dishing out four assists. Senior Annie Keenan tallied 14 points and a game-best 17 rebounds. Freshman Shannon Phelan produced 17 points and five boards, while senior Katie Smith netted 12 points.

Yeshiva will host Farmingdale State College, in a crucial Skyline Conference matchup at Peter Jay Sharp Center, on Thursday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.