NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Yeshiva University women's basketball team suffered a setback, falling to defending league champion and top-seeded Mount Saint Mary College by a score of 73-54, at Kaplan Center on Thursday evening.

Summary of the Game: Yeshiva (8-9, 5-8 Skyline) got off to a strong start in the game, leading by four a couple of times in the opening quarter and by three just as many times in the second stanza. However, a 14-2 run by the Knights (15-3, 12-1 Skyline) from late in the second quarter through the early stages of the third period was the difference in the contest as Yeshiva was not able to recover.

Leading Performers for the Maccabees: Junior guard Daniella Bessler had a near double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds, both game highs, while tallying six assists. Junior guard Shai Rahamim produced 13 points, three assists, and just as many steals. Senior forward Kupferman also had a strong game with seven points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot.

Fourth-year guard Yuval Nitzan produced six points, just as many boards, six assists, and a pair of steals. Senior forward Daniella Rothman also had six points and six rebounds, while blocking two shots and forcing a steal.

Impact on the Skyline Standings: Yeshiva remains in sole possession of the sixth and final playoff spot in the Skyline standings, but only has a full game lead over Sarah Lawrence College (6-12, 4-9 Skyline). Yeshiva aims to qualify for the Skyline Championships for the first time in program history. Mount Saint Mary stays in first place by a game in the loss column over Merchant Marine Academy (18-2, 13-2 Skyline) and Manhattanville College (16-3, 12-2 Skyline).

Strong First Quarter by the MACS: With the game knotted at seven points apiece, Yeshiva scored the next four points, thanks to back-to-back buckets by Rahamim and Kupferman, to give Yeshiva an 11-7 advantage with 4:22 left to play in the opening quarter. Later in the stanza, with the game tied at 13, Bessler connected on a jump shot to give the Maccabees the lead once again, with 2:56 to go.

The Knights scored the next four points to grab the advantage, 17-15. However, in the closing seconds of the opening period, Nitzan found Rothman who connected on a fast-break layup to even the contest at 17 points apiece with five seconds remaining. That would be the score after 10 minutes of play.

The Second Quarter: Both teams were held scoreless for the first 3:23 of the second stanza. Bessler snapped the scoreless drought by taking a feed from Rahamim and burying a triple to give Yeshiva the advantage again, at 20-17, with 6:37 left until the half. Later in the period, with the score evened up at 22, Bessler grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled all the way down the court, and then converted a layup on the fast break to give Yeshiva the 24-22 benefit with 4:11 left before the break.

Mount Saint Mary answered as a three-point field goal by graduate guard Katie Smith put the home team in front, 25-24, with 3:42 remaining. With Yeshiva down by four, Nitzan kicked the ball out to Rahamim who drained a shot from downtown to shrink YU's deficit to 28-27 with 1:48 left to play. However, Smith and graduate guard Asia Rivera combined for back-to-back triples to give Mount Saint Mary the lead, 34-27, with 50 seconds to go. That would be the score at the intermission.

The Second Half: The Knights' strong finish to the first half carried over into the second, as the reigning champions went on an 8-2 run to go up by a score of 41-29, just 2:14 into the third quarter. That put the game out of reach for the Maccabees who never got back to within single digits. Mount Saint Mary inflated its lead to as many as 24 on its way to its 11^th win in a row.

For the Knights: Rivera netted 18 points, on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor, while grabbing seven rebounds and collecting two steals. Smith produced 16 points and four assists.

Big Skyline Matchup for the Maccabees on Saturday Night: Yeshiva will battle Sarah Lawrence College, in a crucial conference contest, at Campbell Sports Center on Saturday evening. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. The Maccabees lead the Gryphons for the final playoff spot by a full game with each team having five conference battles remaining in the season.