The Yeshiva University women’s basketball team earned a key Skyline Conference victory over the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 62-52, at the ARC Arena on Saturday evening. It’s Yeshiva’s (4-3, 2-2 Skyline) first victory over Mount Saint Vincent (0-4, 0-2 Skyline) in at least 15 years.
“Great bounce-back win for the team,” Yeshiva University head coach Michael Alon said. “It’s nice to see the team’s hard work paying off.”
Leading the way for the Maccabees was senior forward Michal Alge, who produced a career-high 27 points and brought down 12 rebounds, for the double-double, while forcing a game-high eight steals with two blocks. The Boston native now has 956 points and 996 rebounds in her illustrious career.
Senior guard Nicole Bick also had a big game, scoring 23 points, while distributing four assists and clutching three caroms.
The Maccabees got off to a strong start as a layup by Bick gave the home team a 9-4 lead, with 4:14 to go in the opening quarter. The Dolphins countered with an 8-2 run to jump out in front, 12-11, with 2:31 remaining. The Maccabees finished the quarter strong by scoring eight unanswered points to lead 19-12 after the first 10 minutes of play. Alge began the run with back-to-back layups, while Bick capped it off with a 3-point field goal in the closing minute.
The Dolphins rallied to pull to within four, during the second quarter. Bick answered with a successful shot from beyond the arc to extend the Macs’ lead to 24-17, with 6:54 left to play in the half. Later in the period, Bick converted a layup on a fast break to put YU up by eight, at 27-19, with 4:21 remaining. The two teams went into the half with the score 31-25 in favor of Yeshiva.
The Dolphins went on a run to narrow Yeshiva’s lead to three, in the early stages of the second half. Yeshiva answered with five straight points, capped off by Alge performing a layup while being fouled. She hit the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play and put YU up, 37-29, with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter. Just over two minutes later, sophomore guard Leah Shulman forced a steal and found Bick, who passed it to Alge. The senior forward took advantage by draining a jump shot to extend the Macs’ lead to nine. Yeshiva began to pull away late in the third, as Alge once again converted a layup while drawing a foul. The fourth-year forward added a shot from the charity stripe to put her team up by double-digits for the first time in the contest. Yeshiva took a 45-37 lead into the fourth.
The Maccabees did not allow the Dolphins to generate a run to get back into the game, during the final stanza. Shulman capitalized on a 3-pointer to give the Blue and White its largest lead of the game, at 57-45, with 3:31 remaining in regulation time. Yeshiva went on to earn the impressive conference victory, 62-52.
For the evening, sophomore forward Lindsay Brandwein scored four points and had six rebounds, while classmate Celia Cohen also clutched six caroms, and added three points. Shulman forced four steals, while sophomore guard Adina Rosenberg scored two points and dished out an assist. Junior forward Ellie Parker brought down a rebound.
By Anthony (A.J.) O’Hagan
Anthony (A.J.) O’Hagan is the sports information director at Yeshiva University.
