Newburgh, NY (Feb. 17, 2016) – Host Mount Saint Mary College handed visiting Purchase a 68-49 defeat Wednesday night. 
 
Led by Kayla Cleare's seventh double-double of the season, the MSMC women's basketball team earned their third straight win, putting them at 12-12 overall and 9-6 in Skyline Conference play.   
 
The Panthers outscored the Mount 10-2 in the paint in the opening 10 minutes and held the lead until a Jessica Rini bucket with 1:40 left in the second stanza. Rini would score the final four points of the period for the Mount, who took a 29-26 lead into halftime.
 
Mount Saint Mary was held to 26.7-percent shooting over the first two quarters on Wednesday and went just 2-for-6 from three-point range. The Knights outscored Purchase 11-5 from the free-throw line in the first half.  
 
The Knights stretched their lead in the third quarter and pulled in front by double-figures for the first time on a Megan Kerutis three-pointer with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
 
Following back-to-back triples for the home team, Mount Saint Mary maintained a double-figure lead the remainder of the game.  
 
The Knights shot 31-percent from the floor in the game and held a 19-5 edge in made free-throws on the night. The Mount secured 29 offensive rebounds and outscored Purchase 23-9 in second chance opportunities.
 
Purchase was led by sophomores Kayla Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY) and Danielle Holmes (Warwick, NY) along with junior Frances Minaya (San Fernando, CA) and senior Elizabeth Osowiecki (Franklin Square, NY).  Ortiz tallied a team-high 12 points while pulling down four rebounds.  Holmes added 11 points to the effort while tallying a team-high eight rebounds and five blocks.  Minaya and Osowiecki combined for 13 points and seven rebounds.     
 
Cleare closed the night 8-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line as she matched the team lead in double-doubles. She led all players in the game with 23 points and 18 rebounds.  She is averaging 15.1 rebounds per game over her last eight games and stands 56 caroms shy of the single season record at Mount Saint Mary.
 
The Panthers conclude the 2015-16 season with a Skyline road game against Yeshiva University on Saturday.  The game will take place at Baruch College and set to start at 8:30 p.m.