SETTERS RALLY BACK IN SECOND HALF; WIN OT THRILLER OVER SAINT ANSELM
JOHNSON'S 13 POINTS IN SECOND HALF KEYS PACE COMEBACK

NEW YORK, NY- The Setters, ranked #9 in the latest NCAA Division II Northeast Regional poll, overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to rally past the Hawks of Saint Anselm College in an overtime thriller 72-68 in Northeast-10 Conference action. Freshman Carol Johnson (New City, NY/Cardinal Spellman) (New City, NY/Cardinal Spellman) led the Setters' comeback with 13 of her 15 points in the second half to rally Pace to a tie with the Hawks before Pace controlled the extra session to improve their record to 14-8 and 11-7 in the NE-10. The Hawks drop to 4-19 and 2-16 in conference play.

In a tale of two halves for both squads, the Hawks would control most of the opening half. Saint Anselm would use a 17-6 run to balloon their one point lead at 8-7 to a 12-point lead with 5:30 left in the first half. The Hawks would eventually increase their lead to 15 and took a 36-21 lead into the break. Saint Anselm shot 14-for-29 (48.3%) for the half, compared to the Setters 10-of-34 (29.4%) in the first 20 minutes of action.

The second half was a different story for Pace as the Setters stepped up their defensive pressure and relied on the scoring of Johnson to rally back. The Hawks would hold a 41-27 lead with 14:18 left in regulation before the Setters ripped off 11-0 blitz to get within striking distance at 41-38 with just over nine minutes left in the second half. The key part of the run was Johnson, who converted a three-point play and added a lay-up to spark the Setters' rally. The Hawks held off the Setters rally for the moment, pushing their advantage back to six points 53-47 with 3:21 left in the game. Pace would roar back over the next three minutes as Taylor Losey (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) would score in the paint on back-to-back Setters possession to trim their deficit to two points with under two minutes remaining. Johnson would come through again for Pace as she was fouled and converted both free throws to put the Setters up 55-53 with 1:44 remaining in the second half. As the clock ticked away, Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) scored in the lane, giving Pace their first lead of the game with 18 seconds to go. The Hawks refused to go quietly as Megan Howard would hit both of her free throws with six seconds left, tying the game at 55 and forcing overtime. In the second half, Saint Anselm managed to connect on only five field goals, going 5-for-26 (19.2%), while the Setters went 12-for-39 (30.8%) from the field.

In the extra frame, the Setters scored the first six points, capped by a pair of Johnson free throws. Pace would lead by as much as eight as Losey would nail a trifecta and convert 1-of-2 from the free throw line for a 65-57 lead with just under two minutes left in overtime. A 7-2 burst by the Hawks led by Justine Lyons, who netted all of the points in the rally, brought the game back to three points at 67-64 with 39 seconds remaining. Pace would hold off the Hawks as a full-court pass to a wide-open Lisa Welsome (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) would put Pace back up by five, as she would fail to convert on the three-point play with an errant free throw attempt. Welsome would add three free throws down the stretch to give Pace some breathing room as they would hold on for an amazing and thrilling victory.

For Pace, Johnson led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals on 4-for-6 shooting and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Losey tallied 14 points and seven rebounds, while Welsome chipped in 13 points eight boards and five assists. Shields led the Setters with 10 rebounds, while Maral Javadifar (Flushing, NY/The Mary Louis Academy) (Flushing, NY/Mary Louis Academy) just missed a double-double as she finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Pace returns to action on Saturday, February 14 when the Setters will host the Warriors of Merrimack College at Pace's Pleasantville campus for Senior Day for a Northeast-10 Conference battle. Prior to and during the game, the Setters will be host the WBCA Pink Zone event, in an effort to fight cancer. The Setters will be taking donations as well as donating the gate money to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer fund. Fans are encouraged to wear pink on Saturday as well for the 1:30 pm game.