THROGGS NECK, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team fell short against St. Joseph's College Brooklyn by a score of 82-72, at Riesenberg Gymnasium, on Sunday afternoon.

The Maccabees (6-11, 4-11 Skyline) trailed by as many as 29 during the second half but rallied to pull to within four on multiple occasions. However, YU could not complete the comeback and the Bears (6-14, 5-11 Skyline) were able to hang on for the win.

Leading the way for the Maccabees was rookie sensation Daniella Bessler, who netted 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, brought down 15 rebounds, dished out five assists, and forced three steals. Junior Daniella Rothman also had a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds, while distributing three assists and forcing just as many steals. Classmate Yuval Nitzan had a solid game with 12 points, seven assists, three rebounds, a pair of blocks, and just as many steals. Graduate student Miriam Kazlow had a career-best 12 points, while snatching three boards.

The Maccabees got off to a strong start by scoring the first five points of the contest. However, the Bears outscored the Macs, 14-3, during the remaining 8:28 of the opening period.

YU came storming out of the gate in the second quarter, as Kazlow drained a jump shot and buried a triple to slice SJCB's lead to 14-13. Bessler continued the Blue and White's momentum by grabbing an offensive rebound and providing the putback to propel the Macs back in front, 15-14, with 7:33 remaining in the half. However, the Bears tilted momentum into their favor by going on a 25-1 run to take a commanding 39-16 hold with 16 seconds to go in the second quarter. Nitzan gave YU a lift by drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt with one second left. She drained all three shots from the charity stripe to trim the Bears' advantage to 39-19 heading into the intermission.

St. Joseph's Brooklyn inflated its lead all the way up to 29, at 59-30, with 1:40 left in the third quarter. The Maccabees began to show signs of life by chipping away at the deficit. Bessler finished the period strong by forcing a steal and then converting a fastbreak layup, with one second to spare, to shrink the Macs' disadvantage to 61-38 heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation time.

The Maccabees continued to pull closer in the fourth quarter. Down by 17, sophomore Shai Rahamim buried a 3-point field goal to shrink the Bears' lead to 68-54 with 5:49 to go. After the Macs pulled to within 12, Kazlow drained a triple to get YU to within single digits, at 70-61, with exactly four minutes left. After each team scored two more points, Rothman got the Macs even closer by nailing both free throws to make it 72-65 in favor of St. Joseph's Brooklyn with 2:29 remaining. With less than two minutes left in regulation, Nitzan took a feed from Rothman and nailed a 3-point basket to pull the Macs to within four, at 72-68.

Yeshiva held St. Joseph's Brooklyn scoreless on the next possession and got the ball back with a chance to pull even closer. However, senior Kelly O'Donnell intercepted YU's pass attempt and converted a fastbreak layup, while being fouled, with 1:25 to go. She added the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and put the Bears back up by seven, at 75-68, which took the wind out of Yeshiva's sails. The Macs had one more rally in them, as a layup by Bessler cut St. Joseph's Brooklyn's lead to four, at 76-72, with 24 ticks left on the clock. However, that was as close as Yeshiva would get as SJCB successfully converted six free throws in the final 20 seconds of the game to win the Skyline contest, 82-72.

For the Maccabees, Rahamim had six points, five steals, and a pair of assists. Junior Gabrielle Kupferman had five points and four boards, while classmate Renee Benjamini had a productive afternoon with six points, three rebounds, and two assists. Sophomore Kira Elbaum had three points and just as many rebounds.

For the Bears, O'Donnell led all players with 32 points, while snatching nine rebounds, forcing five steals, and blocking two shots. Junior Emma Kiley had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Alexis Breen tallied 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Freshman Grace Kennedy netted 12 points.

Yeshiva will host Sarah Lawrence College, at Peter Jay Sharp Center, on Thursday evening. Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m.