PACE ROLLS PAST SAINT MICHAEL'S 84-72
WELSOME'S 20 POINTS LEADS FOUR SETTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES 

PLEASANTVILLE, NY- The Setters, ranked #9 in the latest NCAA Division II Northeast Regional poll, zipped past the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College 84-72 in Northeast-10 Conference action. Lisa Welsome (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) led a quartet of Setters in double figures, netting 20 points as Pace improved to 13-8 overall and 10-7 in conference play. The Purple Knights fall to an even .500 at 11-11 overall and 8-10 in the NE-10.

Saint Michael's came out shooting well in early action, building a 13-9 lead in the first four minutes of play. The Setters would respond with a 16-6 run as Brittany Huggins (Windsor, CT/Windsor) (Windsor, CT/Windsor) netted half of the points in the run with two triples and a pair of free throws, giving the Setters a 25-19 lead halfway through the opening period. The Purple Knights would slice into the Setter lead to one point at 28-27 before Pace closed out the final 4:09 on a 13-5 run to take a 41-32 lead into halftime.

The Setters opened the second half with a bang as Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) converted a three-point play, putting Pace 44-32 in the first 11 seconds of the second half. Pace would take a 52-42 lead with 14:36 left in the game, before Saint Michael's would make their run. The Purple Knights would use an 8-2 run to get within four points at 54-50, eventually closing the gap to one point at 67-66 with 4:44 left in the game. The Setters would break the game open the rest of the way, pulling away from the Purple Knights with a 19-8 run to close out the game. Pace converted 8-of-11 from the charity stripe over the final 4:44 as Huggins was a perfect 6-for-6 in that stretch to key the final run of the game and give the Setters a victory going away 84-72.

For Pace, Welsome had a solid all-around game with her 20 points, four assists and four steals, while shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. Huggins was right behind Welsome, netting 19 points on 5-for-10 shooting, while Shiesha McCollum (Newburgh, NY/Washingtonville) tallied 16 points, five rebounds and six swats. Shields rounded out the double figure scorers, totaling 11 points, five boards and three assists.

For Saint Michael's, Alexis Keller led all scorers with 21 points, while chipping in four rebounds and two assists. Michelle Otey finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Meg O'Shea netted 12 points and six assists.  

Pace returns to action on Tuesday, February 10 when the Setters will host the Hawks of Saint Anselm College on the Pace New York City campus in a Northeast-10 Conference battle set for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.