PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase College women's basketball team battled throughout an Anderson Hill Road rivalry matchup Tuesday evening but ultimately fell to Skyline Conference front runner Manhattanville College, 62–46.
With the results, the Blue and Orange are now 6–6 overall and 5–2 in the Skyline, while the Valiants improved to 9–3 overall and remained unbeaten in conference action at 7–0.
Purchase weathered an early surge from the visitors and began to settle in as the game progressed. After trailing 19–9 at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers responded with their strongest stretch of the night in the second frame, matching the visitors point-for-point with 18 in the period. Improved ball movement and defensive energy helped Purchase head into halftime within striking distance, down 37–27.
The Panthers continued to compete coming out of the break, as a Tianna Patten (FY/Mount Vernon, NY) three-pointer early in the third quarter sparked a push that cut the deficit to seven. Purchase stayed aggressive on the glass and in transition, keeping pressure on the Valiants before entering the final quarter trailing 51–39.
In the fourth the hosts continued to fight until the final horn, holding the Valiants to just 11 points in the period but couldn't quite make the comeback ending the game 62-46.
Individually, Patten led Purchase with 11 points, while Charlee Neb (SR/Longmont, CO) added 10 points and dished out five assists to pace the offense. Ashley Santiago (SO/Poughkeepsie, NY) provided valuable minutes off the bench with seven points and Kendall Larsen (JR/Port Richmond, NY) chipped in five points and four rebounds.
As a team, the Blue and Orange shot 33.3 percent from the field and 60.0 percent on three-pointers compared to the guests who shot 32.9 percent and 55.0 percent, respectively.
Up next, the Panthers are headed to Mount Saint Mary College on January 9th for a 5 p.m. matchup.
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