PURCHASE, N.Y. - Despite a valiant effort Tuesday night, the Purchase College women's basketball team was defeated by the Knights of Mount Saint Mary College in the Skyline Conference opener by the score of 79-64.

With the result, the Panthers dropped to 0-2 overall, while the Knights improved to 2-1. 

To begin the contest, the two sides kept things close, as neither side enjoyed a double-digit lead until 5:23 remained in the opening half. Before that, Mount St. Mary led 19-15 after one quarter, eventually taking a 40-30 advantage into the halftime break.

Once the second half began, the guests started to pull away. In the third quarter, Mount pushed its advantage to a game-high 18 points, 53-35, before settling for a 57-46 lead after 30 minutes played.

In the final frame, the Panthers fought hard in their comeback attempt, getting the deficit to just eight points with 8:12 remaining. However, that was as close as Purchase got the rest of the way, as the Knights held off the late flurry to secure the 79-64 win. 

On the night, Purchase and Mount St. Mary both shot 36 percent from the floor, with the guests enjoying a slight advantage in 3-pointers. The real difference in the loss was points off turnovers, as the Panthers lost the category 32-11, following the 28-turnover performance. 

Purchase did manage to top Mount St. Mary in bench points and points in the paint though to keep the contest close throughout.

Individually, Shamoni Berrios (SO/Bronx, NY) finished with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Kasia Morrison (SO/Bronx, NY) added 15 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three, while Shadai Plowden (SR/Yonkers, NY) recorded a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds) in the loss. 

For Mount, Morina Bojka (Grad/Prospect, CT) led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Up next for the Panthers is the team's first road action of the 2021-22 campaign, as they travel to Farmingdale State College on November 20th. That game is set to tip-off at noon and you can follow it here.