NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Pace  Women's Basketball squad earned their sixth straight victory after they defeated Northeast-10 Conference rival Merrimack 83-71 on Wednesday night. Senior Margo Hackett scored 19 points and tied a career high with five three-pointers. With the win, the Setters advance to 8-6, 3-4 NE-10 while Merrimack drops to 8-5, 4-4 NE-10.

In the first four minutes of play, the Setters jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead after draining four jumpshots, three by junior Yuni Sher. The Warriors responded with five consecutive points but the run was halted by Christina Rubin who drilled a triple to spark a 10-2 rally capped off by a Hackett longball. Leading by one midway through the period, Eva Hart and Hackett each connected on shots from distance to increase the Setter advantage. Merrimack knotted things at 24-all before Hackett sank her third shot from downtown to begin an 11-3 run that she later finished with a deep jumper. The key run included three-pointers by Hackett, C. Rubin, and senior Jaclyn Oskam. The Warriors cut the deficit down to as little as four points, but a pair of three-point baskets in the final 1:40 of play helped Pace ride a five point lead into the locker room.

As a team, the Setters shot an outstanding 62.5% (10-16) from behind the arc and 54.8% (17-31) from the field in the opening half. C. Rubin led Pace with 14 first half points and three assists behind 4-7 shooting from deep. Hackett pitched in 11 first half points after shooting 3-5 from behind the arc. Oskam added eight points and a trio of rebounds while Sher scored six points with seven boards.

More hot shooting in the second half as freshman Geena Rosalbo provided a surge, scoring the first points of the half on a layup to put Pace up by seven. The Warriors cut the deficit to just three points before Hackett and freshman Gabriella Rubin nailed back-to-back triples that stretched the lead to nine with 14:47 remaining in the game. Up seven points with 10:08 remaining, Rosalbo again hit a basket to start an 8-4 rally that was capped off by a pair of G. Rubin buckets. Under a minute later, Hackett connected on her fifth and final deep ball to give Pace a 12-point lead, their largest in the half to that point. After five consecutive Merrimack points, Rosalbo converted a layup, with the contact, and hit the free throw for the and-one. Sher and Rosalbo combined to go 6-6 down the stretch on free throws to help Pace end the game on a 6-0 run, and win by double digits.

In the game, the Setters shot 56.6% (30-53) from the field, 61.9% (13-21) from distance, and 90.9% (10-11) from the charity stripe. Hackett led the charge with 19 points behind 5-7 shooting from downtown. Sher registered another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Rosalbo chipped in 13 points, all in the second half, to go along with three assists while Oskam finished with ten points and five rebounds. C. Rubin shot 4-8 from deep to score 14 points with a team-best four assists.

The Setters return to action on Saturday when they host Stonehill in the Goldstein Fitness Center at 1:30 pm