SPARKILL, N.Y.- Brittany Shields (Cold Spring NY/Haldane) hit a go-ahead jumper in the paint with 41 seconds to play to lift the Setters to a 57-54 win over the Spartans of Saint Thomas Aquinas College in non-conference action. The Setters improve to 6-3 overall, while the Spartans fall to 4-6 on the season.
The Spartans jumped out to an early 14-5 lead midway through the opening half. Pace answered with the next nine points with Shields scoring seven, including a three-point play, as the Setters pulled even at 14 with 7:53 to play in the half. Saint Thomas Aquinas pushed ahead by four points, but the Setters rallied with a 12-4 run to close out the half. Margo Hackett (Pawling, NY/Pawling) (Pawling, NY/Pawling) went 3-for-3 at the line, while Jeane Drury (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic) (Flanders, NJ/Morris Catholic) connected on 3-of-4 from the line in the run. Shields added a late three-point play to give the Setters a 26-22 lead at the break.
Pace extended their lead into the second half, taking their largest lead of the game as Emily Armstrong's (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) triple gave the Setters a 39-31 lead with 12:25 to play in the game. The Spartans chipped away and eventually tied the score at 49 on a free throw with 3:35 remaining in the game. The teams traded points with a Saint Thomas Aquinas three with 1:16 left gave the Spartans a one-point lead.
Shields put the Setters back in the lead with her jumper in the paint with 41 seconds to play. The Spartans missed a three-point attempt with Hackett getting the rebound. She went 2-for-2 at the line with 11.3 seconds on the clock. The Spartans had one last hope as they were fouled on a three-point attempt but missed all three from the line, the last by design, as the Setters held on for the three-point win.
For the Setters, Shields finished with 22 points along with nine rebounds, while Hackett netted 12 points, going 7-for-7 at the free throw line, and grabbed three rebounds. Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) recorded six assists, while Armstrong added nine points and Drury totaled seven points.
The Setters are off until 2013 as they will open the New Year on the road as they travel to Oakdale, NY for a non-conference game against Dowling College on Wednesday, January 2 at 5:00 pm.
