Newburgh, NY (Jan. 24, 2018) – Mount Saint Mary College hosted Purchase College for a Skyline Conference women's basketball game on Wednesday night, with the Knights coming away with a 73-46 victory to improve to 13-5 overall and 10-1 in conference play.
 
Despite the loss, Purchase (6-9, 4-7 SKY) produced some standout performances, including the game-high scoring talents of senior guard Kayla Ortiz (Brooklyn, NY). 

Junior guard Amber Jones (Bronx, NY) chipped in with nine points, while junior center Nyasia Harris (South Fallsburg, NY) netted six points and pulled down six boards.

Following a sluggish start, that saw the Knights and Panthers knotted at 12-12 at the end of the first period, the Mount rebounded to outscore Purchase 21-9 in the second frame. A Jordyn Hellpap three-pointer broke the deadlock and started an 11-0 run that gave the Knights the lead for good in the game.
 
Mount Saint Mary did not allow a Purchase field goal until the 5:34 mark of the second period and finished the frame with five of the final seven points to carry a 33-21 lead into the intermission.
 
MSMC converted at 31.4-percent in the first half, but its defense held the visitors to just a 25.9-percent conversions rate and forced nine turnovers. Jessica Rini led all scorers at the break with 10 points, adding eight first half rebounds.
 
Purchase climbed back to within eight points twice in the early part of the third quarter, but the Knights put together a 15-5 run to close the third period to carry a 52-34 lead into the final stanza. The Knights went 5-for-7 from the floor over the run and held Purchase to 2-for-12 shooting.
 
The run extended to 17-5 on a pair of Kayla Cleare free-throws early in the fourth quarter that gave the Knights a 54-34 advantage. Purchase clawed back to within 14 points twice in the final frame, but the Knights outscored the Panthers 13-2 over the final 5:08 of regulation time to claim the final 27-point advantage.
 
Mount Saint Mary improved to 53.8-percent shooting after halftime and held Purchase to a 28.1-percent effort, including a 4-for-17 mark from behind the arc.
Ortiz finished the second half with five of Purchase's nine field goals after halftime.

Mount Saint Mary finished the contest shooting 41-percent overall and went 18-for-21 from the free-throw line, while Purchase was held to 27.1-percent shooting overall.

Purchase is back in action on Saturday. The Panthers will head to St. Joseph's College (L.I.) for a Skyline game starting at 1 p.m.

-MSMC Sports Information contributed to this article