Box Score

Newburgh, NY (Feb. 3, 2015)— The Purchase women's basketball team received 25 points from rookie ace Michelle Rupelli (FR/Staten Island, NY), but fell short on the road Tuesday evening to Mount Saint Mary College, 69-60. 

The Mount (8-9, 3-2 Skyline) outscored Purchase (3-15, 1-7 Skyline) by 14 points in the second half, earning them the conference victory.   

Turnovers were the difference in the second frame, as the Knights forced 13 giveaways while only turning the ball over six times. This led to an 18-5 differential in points off turnovers in the second half, enough to help the Knights overcome a five-point deficit going into the half.
 
Purchase went 6-of-10 (60 percent) from three-point range in the first half, all six coming from Rupelli, who led all scorers at the break with 22 points. The Knights went down by as many as nine points late in the opening frame, but quickly turned it around with a 10-0 run coming out of a timeout to take a one-point lead at 33-32. Purchase stole the momentum back to close out the half on a 6-0 run to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room.
 
The Panthers immediately went on the attack out of the gate in the second half, scoring six straight points to take an 11-point advantage. The Knights still trailed by nine with 10:11 to play, but this is where the turning point of the game took place. Elizabeth Osowiecki (JR/Franklin Square, NY) was called for a charge, picking up her fifth foul and disqualifying her from the game.
 
The Knights immediately capitalized as junior guard Nicole Scicutella drained a three on their next possession. Freshman forward Bridget Kelly followed with a good layup before Purchase got two points back. The Knights then scored the next eight points to take a two-point lead, but Purchase did not give up yet and tied the game at 59 with a jumper from Jeidar Cole (SR/Bronx, NY).
 
Lauren Romao took the lead back for the home team on the next possession which sparked an 8-0 run for the Knights and eventually became a 10-1 run across the final 4:22 to close out the game with a nine-point edge.
 
Despite the loss, Purchase displayed top performances including the personal-best 25 points from Rupelli, 16 points and 12 rebounds from Cole and 10 points, four rebounds and two assists from Osowiecki.  Kistine Viven (JR/New York, NY) totaled a team-high 14 boards, four assists, two blocks and a steal, while April Uhl (SO/Jackson Heights, NY) added another six boards in the effort.

The Panthers are back in action tomorrow, Feb. 5 as travel to Western Connecticut State University for a non-conference game starting at 7 p.m.


-MSMC Sports Information contributed to this article