Purchase, NY (Feb. 1, 2018) – Purchase women's basketball snapped its four-game skid Thursday night and got back to its winning ways in a running-and-gunning 83-65 victory over non-conference opponent, York College.

In the win, Purchase improved to 7-11, dropping the CUNY Conference Cardinals to 5-15.

Panther guard Amber Jones (JR/Bronx, NY) spearheaded the win. Jones scored 16 points in the first half and finished with an impressive 32, leading a trio of scorers in double figures.  

The Panthers took control of the game in the third quarter, jumping out to a 55-36 advantage three minutes into the period. The lead ballooned to 64-45 following a competitive first half, especially the first quarter where the teams looked even.

York led 3-0 to start, but Purchase countered with a hoop and a second straight score, courtesy of Alfa DeJesus (SO/Bronx, NY) to take a 4-3 lead.

The Panthers held a 6-5 lead and then put together a solid run in the first quarter. Amber Yarter (JR/Albany, NY) netted back-to-back to make it 13-5. Kayla Ortiz (SR/Brooklyn, NY) buried a 3-pointer under four minutes to increase the lead to 18-10.

A Jones jumper extended it to 22-13.

But the visiting Cardinals managed an 8-2 run in coming back over the next few minutes of the first. York trailed 24-21 at the end of the first 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, DeJesus started Purchase on the right foot, as the Panthers regrouped. She and Ortiz hit baskets to run the lead back to seven (28-21).

Nonetheless, the Cardinals kept pace. Allison Ahmed scored for York and narrowed the deficit to two, 28-26 on a five-point spurt.

The Panthers regrouped once more, proving the old adage: Basketball is a game of runs. They held a 30-26 lead and then reeled off a series of nice plays, including a steal and hoop from DeJesus that pushed the margin to 10 (36-26) and the same feat on the very next possession – this time behind Ortiz.

The hosts were up 40-30 with under four minutes in the second quarter before opening a 15-point lead on a Jones 3, 45-30.

Purchase led 48-34 at halftime and 68-50 heading into the fourth.

Purchase outscored York 20-16 in the third quarter, building upon its play from the second and carrying it into the final stanza.

The Panthers led 72-54 three minutes into the fourth quarter and never looked back in the 18-point victory.

Ahmed paced York with 14 points in the loss. Karen Bellamy, who finished with a team-best 10 first-half points, added 12 in the loss, joining teammate Victoria Salas.

In addition to Jones, Ortiz and DeJesus finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Despite only three free throws (all made by Yarter) on the night, Purchase still scored 83 points. The Panthers shot 42 percent for the game, limiting York to 36 percent. They also won the rebounding margin by a significant amount, 61-38 – another key to the win.

Nyasia Harris (JR/South Fallsburg, NY) had a monster game on the boards, hauling in 20 rebounds – 10 offensive, 10 defensive. DeJesus paired her 14 points with 10 caroms for a double-double. Ortiz just missed a double-double, adding a game-high eight assists.

While Jones starred offensively, she also performed well defensively in the dominant win, swiping a game-high six steals. Jones accounted for six of the team's 15 steals on the evening.

Nadia Shadi (JR/New York, NY), Dejeana Peoples (FR/New York, NY), Lumturja Huseinovic (JR/Brooklyn, NY), Rianne John (FR/Brooklyn, NY) and Giana Fanelli (SO/Larchmont, NY) also made contributions off the bench in the team win.