Box Score

Purchase, NY (Jan. 17, 2012) – Purchase basketball flashed its resilience in a 68-52 home loss Tuesday night against first-place Mount Saint Mary.
 
Although the Knights boast the largest roster in the conference – along with the recent additions of the Perrone twins, a pair of Panther standouts before they transferred to MSMC during the holiday break – Purchase and its short roster gave a valiant effort in tonight's defeat – a game that looked well on its way to a win after the first 20 minutes.     
 
The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders, playing an extremely spirited first half. Purchase stormed out against the mighty Knights, shooting 41.7 percent from the field, while also holding MSMC to a paltry 32.3 percent shooting.
 
In addition, Purchase was red hot from beyond the arc. The Panthers connected on 3 of 5 3-pointers (60 percent). They were paced by Alyssa Guido (SR/Cliffside Park, NJ) (eight first-half points) and her two 3s. Playmaker Alyse LaPadula* (SR/New Rochelle, NY) chipped in six first-half points. Alexis Billups (JR/Chester, NY) came off the bench in the first and scored four of her own, while dishing three assists in the opening period.
 
The Panthers trailed 3-2 after the first five minutes and shortly later 9-6 before roaring back in the contest. A three by Guido cut the deficit from 15-9 to 15-12, spurring a flurry of points in the ensuing moments. LaPadula would sink a two and Billups connected on a pair of free throws to make it 16-15 at 7:39 in the first.
 
The blazing start contined as Guido, Jessica Bullock (JR/Thiells, NY) and Christina Rupp (FR/Ossining, NY), who hit another key 3-pointer, increased the lead to 23-17 at 2:44.
 
The Panthers closed the half up 29-21.
 
But the Knights regrouped and their depth were simply too much. MSMC, which typically wins the conference title and represents the NCAA in the DIII tournament yearly, outscored the Panthers 47-23 over the final 20 minutes.
 
A defensive switch that placed Guido on MSMC star Amanda Horvers limited her production in the first half, but Horvers played much better in the second, finishing with 17 points. The Knights were led by Jen Mocanu, who scored 24.
 
Guido finished with a team-high 14 for the Panthers. Jess Lindsay (SO/Rochester, NY) and Rupp added 10 apiece. Rupp also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Bullock contributed eight points and LaPadula finished with six, along with four assists.       
 
The Panthers are now 4-9 and 0-6 in conference play. MSMC is 13-2 and a perfect 6-0 in the Skyline.
 
Purchase will now host SJC-BKLYN on Thursday at 6 p.m.