Setters Finish in Third Place; Will Host NE-10 Quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 pm
SYRACUSE, N.Y.- The Setters, ranked #4 in the first NCAA East Region Poll, came up short to the Dolphins of Le Moyne College 64-51 in Pace's final game of the regular season. Pace have clinched the #3 seed in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament. The Setters fall to 19-7 overall and 16-6 in the NE-10, while the Dolphins finish their season at 8-18 and 5-17 in conference play.
The Dolphins jumped out to a double-digit lead to start the game as they led by as much as 15 points at 25-10 with seven and a half minutes to play. The Setters answered with a 14-0 surge to pull to within one point at 25-24 with 1:44 to play as Maral Javadifar (Flushing, NY/The Mary Louis Academy) (Flushing, NY/Mary Louis Academy) scored six points in the rally. Le Moyne netted the final four points in the final minute as they took a 29-24 lead at the break.
Le Moyne added to their halftime advantage to start the second half as they pulled ahead to 37-26 lead in the first four minutes. The Setters rallied as they sliced the score down to four points at 38-34 with 12 minutes remaining in the contest. The Dolphins pushed their lead to 56-45 with 2:43 left in the game. The Setters got as close as eight point at 58-50 with just over a minute to play on a triple by Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) but the Le Moyne went 6-for-8 at the free throw line in the final minute to hold off Pace down the stretch.
For Pace, Cleary led the Setters with 13 points as she shot 3-for-5 from downtown and 4-for-4 at the line. Javadifar chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. Kerri White (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy/Manhattan College) totaled nine points and two steals.
The Setters have secured third place in the Northeast-10 Conference and will host the #6 seed on Sunday, February 26 at 1 pm at the Goldstein Fitness Center. Pace's opponent will be determined following the conclusion of the NE-10 regular season on Tuesday night.
