New York, NY (Dec. 1, 2016) – Junior forward Amber Jones (Bronx, NY) contributed a game-high 30 points as Purchase College defeated Yeshiva University 67-53 in the Skyline Conference opener for both teams Thursday night at the ARC Arena.  

The Maccabees (2-2, 0-1 SKY) were down by 14, 7:41 into the contest, but rallied to eventually take the lead in the fourth quarter. Purchase (2-3, 1-0 SKY) was able to regain the advantage and earn the win. Sparking Yeshiva's surge was senior forward Simee Rosner, who scored 24 points and had a career-high 26 rebounds. Junior forward Michal Alge also produced a double-double, scoring 14 points and tying her career-high with 22 boards.

Purchase dominated the first quarter by jumping out to an 18-4 advantage led by Jones, who netted three consecutive jumpers and four free throws. Yeshiva would pull closer, as a jump shot by Alge ended the first period of play, 20-9. 

In the second stanza, the Maccabees scored the first six points, highlighted by Rosner's tip-in to shrink the Panthers' lead to 20-15, with 8:04 left in the first half. Purchase was able to shift momentum into its favor by outscoring Yeshiva 12 -7 for the remainder of the half, as the visiting team took a 32-22 lead into intermission.

For the second quarter in a row, Yeshiva started off with a 6-0 run, highlighted by Alge stealing the ball and feeding it to Rosner who laid it up and in. Purchase regained a six-point lead at 40-34 after Kayla Ortiz (JR/Brooklyn, NY) delivered off a steal with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter.

The Maccabees answered back with after Rosner converted layups on back-to-back offensive possessions. Alge's layup capped off another 6-0 run by Yeshiva, as the home team tied the game at 40, with 3:14 left in the third quarter. The Panthers then scored five unanswered points, but Rosner's layup pulled Yeshiva to within two points.

In the fourth quarter, Yeshiva once again started off strong. After Rosner's layup tied the game, senior forward Tess Blaustein connected on a three-point field goal to give the Maccabees their first lead since the opening minute of the game, 48-45, with 8:35 remaining in regulation time. Ortiz and April Uhl (SR/Jackson Heights, NY) scored the next four points for Purchase, but a successful jumper by Rosner put Yeshiva back in front, with less than six minutes left.

With the score 51-50 in favor of Purchase, Blaustein found Rosner who laid it up and in to make it 52-51 Yeshiva, with 5:19 remaining in regulation time. From that point on, Purchase took over the game by going on a 16-1 rally, including 11 unanswered points to claim the 67-53 victory.

Jones totaled seven steals, three rebounds, two assists and a block to compliment her team and season-best 30 points. Rookie Dayja Medina (FR/Brewster, NY) contributed with nine points, nine boards and four steals as Ortiz added another eight points, eight assists, seven steals and three blocks to the book.  Lisa Kentris (SO/Latham, NY) tallied a team-high 12 boards, while Uhl and Frances Minaya (SR/San Fernando, CA) combined for 14 points and 13 rebound.

Purchase is back on the road Saturday with a Skyline matchup hosted by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.  The game is set to start at 12 p.m.

        -Yeshiva Sports Information contributed to this article