The Yeshiva University women’s basketball team earned a hard-fought non-conference win over Pratt Institute, 51-49, at the Pratt A.R.C. last week. The Maccabees evened their record to 1-1, while the Cannoneers dropped to 1-1.
The victory did not come easy for Yeshiva, as Pratt rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter to pull within one with just over a minute remaining. The home team, trailing by two, had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, but a three-point attempt by Anna Bryce fell short at the buzzer.
Yeshiva had two players produce double-doubles. Junior forward Michal Alge scored 21 points and led all players with 18 rebounds. Senior forward Simee Rosner produced 20 points and grabbed 13 boards.
In the opening quarter, Pratt had the edge in play by outscoring Yeshiva 13-11. In the second quarter, Alge converted back-to-back layups to tie the game at 15. With 6:25 remaining in the half, Rosner’s free throw put Yeshiva ahead by one, 16-15. The Maccabees built their advantage for the remainder of the quarter, as a jump shot by freshman guard Laura Betesh extended Yeshiva’s lead to 27-20 with less than two minutes left until halftime. With one second remaining, Alge nailed a free throw to make the score 30-24 in Yeshiva’s favor at the half.
Just over a minute into the third quarter, senior forward Tess Blaustein laid the ball up and in to increase Yeshiva’s lead to 32-24. From that point on, the Cannoneers shifted the momentum in their favor by scoring nine unanswered points to take a 33-32 lead with 5:41 remaining in the period. Yeshiva was able to regain its composure and counter with an 8-0 run, highlighted by two layups and a jumper by Rosner, to give the visiting team the advantage, 40-33. Later, Alge forced a steal and laid the ball up and in on a fast break, to extend YU’s lead to 46-35, with 1:43 remaining in the third. That would be the score going into the fourth.
Pratt scored the first six points in the final quarter to pull within six, at 46-41. Rosner’s layup, with 5:59 left in regulation time, gave Yeshiva an eight-point lead. The Cannoneers did not let Rosner’s basket faze them as the home team scored five straight points to pull within two, with less than three minutes left.
On the next possession, Rosner once again disrupted Pratt’s momentum by nailing a jump shot in the paint to extend Yeshiva’s lead to four, with just 2:41 left. Pratt converted three free throws, with the latter two occurring with 1:06 left, to narrow Yeshiva’s lead to one. After grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed shot, Alge was fouled. She converted the second free throw after missing the first, to make it 51-49 Yeshiva, with 34 seconds left. Pratt had one more chance to tie or win the game, but Yeshiva’s defense was able to prevent Pratt from scoring, securing the narrow victory for the Maccabees.
For the contest, Betesh and Blaustein each scored two points, grabbed eight rebounds, forced three steals, and blocked one shot. The former dished out five assists, while the latter produced two dimes. Senior guard Tzipora Leiser scored three points with three rebounds, while junior guard Andrea Weiss produced just as many points with one rebound. Senior forward Gavriela Colton grabbed two boards and dished out one assist, while sophomore guard Avigayil Wiener and Penny Rabin each brought down a rebound.
(yumacs.com)
