MANCHESTER, N.H.- Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) posted a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds as the Setters outlasted the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire in a pivotal Northeast-10 Conference match-up. The Setters improve to 13-3 overall and 10-2 in the NE-10, while the Penmen drop to 14-4 and 9-3 in conference play.
A tight first ten minutes gave way to the Setters using a 14-4 run to build a 24-16 lead with 3:59 to play in the half. Shields capped the run with a three-point play as she led all scorers with 13 points at the break. The Penmen rallied over the final minutes but the Setters held a slim 28-27 advantage at the break.
The second half featured a thrilling back and forth battle between the two teams and one that saw nine ties and 10 lead changes. The final burst that gave the Setters the edge came as they trailed 55-53 with 4:13 after a pair of Penmen free throws. Pace answered as Margo Hackett (Pawling, NY/Pawling) (Pawling, NY/Pawling) connected on a triple to put the Setters up by one and Carol Johnson (New City, NY/Cardinal Spellman) (New City, NY/Cardinal Spellman) converted a lay-up in transition with 3:08 remaining to give the Setters a 58-53 edge. Neither team scored in the final three minutes as the Setters defense held off one last charge as Maral Javadifar (Flushing, NY/The Mary Louis Academy) (Flushing, NY/Mary Louis Academy) blocked a game-tying attempt as time expired to seal the win for the Setters.
For Pace, Shields' double-double effort was a key to the victory, while Johnson finished with 14 points and five rebounds. Javadifar totaled 11 points and three assists, while Kerri White (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy) (Flushing, NY/Mary Louis Academy/Manhattan College) netted three blocks and two steals. Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) also played a well for the Setters as she tallied four steals.
The Setters are back in action on Saturday, January 21 when Pace will host the Ravens of Franklin Pierce University at the Goldstein Fitness Center in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up at 1:30 pm. Saturday's game will be "Blue-Out" as Free Love Blue, Live Gold T-shirts will be given out while supplies last. In addition, 250 Free box lunches will be given out by Shop-Rite during both the men's and women's games courtesy of Shop-Rite.
