PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The Setters dropped a heartbreaker 79-72 in overtime to the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference action. Pace falls to 14-3 overall and 9-2 in the NE-10, while the Purple Knights improve 7-6 and 5-5 in conference play.
The Purple Knights took an early 12-6 lead before the Setters would rally back to tie the score at 14. The Setters would build a 31-25 lead and took a 31-27 advantage into halftime. Brittany Huggins (Windsor, CT/Windsor) (Windsor, CT/Windsor) netted 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the opening half.
Saint Michael's opened the second half with 16-6 run to take a 43-37 lead with 14:18 left in the half. The Purple Knights would build an eight-point lead before the Setters would begin to chip away. Pace would battle back, eventually tying the game 51 on Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) free throw. The score would go back and forth the rest of the way with the Purple Knights taking a 64-63 lead with 57 seconds left in regulation.
Huggins would put the Setters back in front with a bucket with 32 seconds left in the half. After a Saint Michael's turnover, Shields headed to the line and converted both shots for a 67-64 advantage with five seconds on the clock. Saint Michael's would push the game into overtime as a running three-pointer at the top of the key by Logan Pintka knotted the game at 67 to force an extra period.
In overtime, the Purple Knights opened the extra frame with eight straight points to take a 75-67 lead with 2:47 left in overtime. The Setters battles back as a Shields lay-up and a triple by Huggins pulled back to within three points with 1:08 left. The teams would trade turnovers and the Purple Knights would go 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 15 seconds to hold off the Setters.
Pace was led by Huggins and Shields, who both finished with 22 points. Shields grabbed eight boards, while Huggiins dished out three assists.
The Setters return to action on Wednesday, January 19 when Pace will host Southern New Hampshire University for a Northeast-10 Conference game at 5:30 pm.
