Setters Await NCAA At-Large Bid
NEW HAVEN, Conn.- The Setters, ranked #4 in the final NCAA East Region Poll, came up short in the final seconds to the Owls of Southern Connecticut 48-47 in the Semifinals of the Northeast-10 Championship. The Setters fall to 20-8 overall, while the Owls improve to 24-4 and advance to the NE-10 Championship game.
The Owls controlled most of the first half as they built a 26-15 lead with six minutes to play in the first half. The Setters rallied as they closed the half on a 9-0 run as Kerri White (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy) (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy/Manhattan College) hit a pair of three-pointers, while Allison Cleary (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) (New Windsor, NY/Cornwall Central) also connected from downtown as Pace pulled to within two points as 26-24 at the break.
Pace took the lead on their first possession of the second half and it was back and forth throughout the final 20 minutes. White's fourth trifecta of the game with 13:27 left to play gave the Setters a 38-35 lead. Southern Connecticut answered and they rallied to take a 44-39 lead with 7:57 remaining in the game.
The Setters battled back as they used an 8-2 burst capped by a White jumper with 3:10 to play gave the Setters a 47-46 lead. The teams fought down the stretch but Southern Connecticut's Moni Smith-Ocran got the decisive basket with 22 seconds on the clock. The Setters were unable get a shot off in the final seconds as the Owls held on to advance to the NE-10 title game.
For Pace, White finished with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. She became the seventh member of the 100-three-point club in school history as she has connected on 103 in a Setters uniform. Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The Setters remained in the fourth spot in this week's NCAA East Region poll with the top-8 teams moving onto play in the NCAA Division II Tournament from March 9-12. The NCAA selection show will take play on Sunday, March 4 at 10 pm and will be broadcast online as http://ncaa.com.
