FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - For the third time this season, the Purchase College women's basketball team battled its opponent to a close finish.

Unfortunately, also for the third time this season, the end result favored the opposition, as the Panthers ultimately fell at Farmingdale State College Saturday afternoon. The final score in the Skyline Conference battle was 71-63.

With the result, the Panthers are now 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the Skyline. Meanwhile, the Rams of Farmingdale collected their first victory of the year and now sit at 1-2 and 1-1, respectively.

To begin the day, Farmingdale took an early first quarter lead, before Purchase tied things up at 8-all. From there, the Rams regained the lead and extended it to as many as nine points, before settling for a 22-15 lead after one quarter. 

In the second frame, the hosts pushed their advantage to 11 points, 30-19, after four minutes played. But the Panthers continued to fight and eventually got the margin to just six points at halftime, trailing by the score of 35-29. 

Following the break, both sides come out battling. Every time one of the sides enjoyed a run, the other came right back with a run of its own. As a result, the Rams never led by more than nine points in the third period, while the Panthers managed to get within two points, 41-39, with under four minutes to go. 

As the two foes entered the fourth quarter, Farmingdale's lead quickly grow to 10 points, before the Panthers rallied back to get within a single point, 55-54, with 4:03 remaining in the contest.

Sadly, the was as close as the guests got the rest of the way, as the Rams used a 6-0 run to pull away late. The hosts then held serve during the foul/free throw battle to end the game to secure the 71-63 win. 

On the day, Purchase shot 33.3 percent from the field compared to 47.4 percent for the Rams.

Individually, Shadai Plowden (SR/Yonkers, NY) led the way for the Panthers with a team-high 19 points and seven steals. Shamoni Berrios (SO/Bronx, NY) added 17 points and eight rebounds, while Ariella Johnson (SO/Brooklyn, NY) tallied 13 points and nine boards. 

Up next for the women's basketball team is more Skyline Conference road action, as the team travels to Yeshiva University on November 23rd. That game is set to begin at 6 p.m. and you can follow it here.