Purchase, NY (Feb. 9, 2019) – Freshman forward Shadai Plowden totaled 22 points to lead Purchase College to a 65-52 comeback win over visiting St. Joseph's College (LI) in Skyline Conference women's basketball action on Saturday.

The victory marks the third-straight for Purchase as the Panthers move to 12-11 overall and 8-8 in the league. The Golden Eagles drop to 3-20 (2-14 Skyline) in defeat.

St. Joe's was first to light up the board, connecting on  back-to-back layups from Juliana Cintron-Leonardo and Alicia Indence, respectively. Trailing 4-0, Purchase netted its first basket with a jumper by junior guard Savannah Lopez (Monroe, NY) at 6:27.  

SJC stretched its lead to 10-2, forcing a Purchase timeout. The Golden Eagles closed the opening 10 minutes with a 16-10 lead.

The visitors notched four 3-point shots to open the second quarter, stretching their advantage to 28-15. Purchase started to gain composure in the back-half of the stanza. A Plowden (Yonkers, NY) steal and layup on a fastbreak forced SJC to call its first timeout of the game.

SJC closed the half with a 36-24 advantage.

Head coach Varrell Eddie's halftime talk proved to be a successful one as the Panthers ignited in the final 20 minutes. Purchase broke open a 17-3 run in the third quarter, and with just under four minutes remaining in the stanza, Plowden forced a SJC turnover and connected in the paint to push Purchase out in front, 40-39.

Both teams exchanged baskets in the final minutes but PC proved to be the stronger defensive team, picking up another four points off SJC turnovers to lead 45-42 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Purchase continued to connect in the fourth, outshooting the Golden Eagles 20-10 to secure the weekend victory.

Plowden led the Panther charge with 22 points (10-of-14 FG), while also grabbing a team-best six steals. Senior center Nyasia Harris (South Fallsburg, NY) and sophomore guard Dejeana Peoples (New York, NY) combined for another 26 points (13 apiece. Harris led all defensive players with 14 rebounds, en route to her fifth double-double of the season.

For St. Joe's, Indence led with a game-high 27 points, while Alyssa Signor chipped in with 11 points. Clintron-Leonardo led the defensive effort with 13 boards.

The Panthers take to the road on Tuesday (Feb. 12) for their final road game of the regular season against Yeshiva University. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.