PURCHASE, N.Y. - Despite a valiant effort, the Purchase College women's basketball team was defeated Saturday afternoon, falling to the United States Merchant Marine Academy, 71-57.

With the result, the Panthers moved to 7-9 overall and 6-5 in the Skyline Conference. For the Mariners, they jumped to 12-4 and 9-2, respectively.

To begin, the two sides played things closely as they were tied three times within the first five minutes.

As the first quarter progressed, the visitors started to pull away to lead 25-17 after one frame.

From there, the lead grew to 13 points at halftime, 44-31, before ballooning to 24 points as the third quarter neared its conclusion.

Despite that, the Blue and Orange continued to fight hard as they trimmed the margin to 14 points on numerous occasions in the fourth.

As the final buzzer sounded, the margin was 14-points in favor of the Mariners but the hosts showed what kind of grit they are capable of in the future.

Overall, the Panthers shot 38.1 percent in the effort, while USMMA totaled 41.7 percent. The guests also enjoyed an advantage on the boards, 46-36.

Individually, Halle Greaige (JR/Rye Brook, NY) enjoyed a breakout day as she scored a career-high 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had two assists.

Charlee Neb (SR/Longmont, CO) was the only other Panther in double figures with 11 points. She also added three rebounds and three steals.

Up next for the squad is a week of rest before they return to action at SUNY Old Westbury on January 24th at noon.