PATCHOGUE, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team could not sustain its strong start, as the Maccabees fell in their Skyline contest to the Golden Eagles of St. Joseph's University Long Island, 79-67, at Danzi Center on Sunday afternoon. Yeshiva led by as many as 11 in the third quarter and was up by a score of 57-55 after 30 minutes of play, but St. Joseph's (1-0, 1-0 Skyline) had a strong fourth quarter, outscoring Yeshiva 24-10, to earn the come-from-behind victory.

Leading the way for the Maccabees (1-2, 1-1 Skyline) was senior Yuval Nitzan who generated a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while dishing out five assists, blocking two shots, and forcing a pair of steals. Junior Shai Rahamim netted 18 points, grabbed eight boards, collected two steals, and distributed an assist. Senior Daniella Rothman led all players with 17 rebounds, while scoring seven points and picking up two steals. Rookie Abigail Koenig had a solid game with nine points and four rebounds.

The Maccabees fell behind, 14-10, during the first quarter. After three YU free throws cut the Blue and White's deficit to one, Nitzan found Rothman who converted a layup to give the Maccabees a 15-14 edge with less than a minute remaining in the opening period. St. Joseph's senior Julianna Knice countered with a triple to put the home team back up by two. In the closing seconds of the period, Rahamim buried a jump shot from beyond the arc to put the Macs ahead again, 18-17, with eight ticks left on the clock. That would be the score after 10 minutes of play.

Yeshiva's momentum carried over into the second quarter as a successful shot from beyond the arc by Nitzan increased YU's lead to 21-17, 34 seconds in. Later in the period, after the Golden Eagles cut the lead to one, Nitzan sunk another triple to increase Yeshiva's benefit to 29-25 with 6:43 left until the half. That began a 10-0 YU run, capped off by back-to-back baskets from downtown courtesy of Rahamim, that gave the Maccabees a 36-25 hold with 4:41 remaining in the stanza. However, St. Joseph's finished the first half on a 9-2 run to send both teams into the locker rooms with Yeshiva leading, 38-34.

YU surged in the early stages of the third quarter, as a traditional three-point play by Nitzan and a 3-point field goal by Rahamim propelled the Macs to a 49-38 hold with 6:52 left to play in the stanza. However, the Golden Eagles scored the next eight points to shrink YU's advantage to three, at 49-46, with 3:39 to go. Nitzan disrupted the opposition's momentum with a jump shot to put YU back up by five. The Golden Eagles tilted play into their favor by going on a 9-2 run to take a 55-53 advantage with 51 seconds left in the period. Yeshiva answered with a 3-point shot courtesy of newcomer Jasmin Maly-Danker to put YU ahead by one with 27 seconds to go. Nitzan added a free throw with under one second remaining in the stanza and Yeshiva headed to the final period of regulation time with a slight 57-55 edge.

The Golden Eagles scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take a 66-57 lead with 7:25 to go in regulation time. Yeshiva could not get back into the game as St. Joseph's Long Island built its lead throughout the remainder of the game to earn the league victory.

For Yeshiva, Maly-Danker had seven points and three rebounds. Senior Gabrielle Kupferman added six points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a pair of assists. Rookie Mia Denti grabbed a board.

For St. Joseph's, senior Alyssa Adomaites led all players with 28 points, brought down seven rebounds, and delivered six assists. Junior Lanyah Ford had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Yeshiva will take on the United States Merchant Marine Academy, in a Skyline Conference matchup at Liebertz Gymnasium, on Tuesday evening. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m.