PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Sophomore guard
Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to erase a 13-point deficit, but the Pace University women's basketball team could not hold on late, falling to Saint Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) in non-conference action on Thursday, 62-59. The Setters record drops to an even 6-6 on the year, while the Spartans improve to 9-3 overall.
STAC's Jenna Erickson opened the second half with a three to give the Spartans their largest lead of the game at 13 points. The momentum then started to shift toward the Setters, as grad student forward
Jaclyn Oskam (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central / Quinnipiac University) came right back down the court and drained a three of her own. This kicked off four straight possessions with a basket for Pace, getting the Setters back within six just over two minutes into the third period.
Rubin went to the line with 5:55 to go in the third, making both chances to get cut STAC's lead to 35-31. She then drew a three-point play on a tough layup the next time down the court, making the ensuing foul shot to get within three.
Both teams went more than three minutes without scoring before STAC's Adiya Henderson broke the silence with a layup. Junior forward
Kirsten Dodge (Fabius, NY/Fabius-Pompey) followed it up with one of her own to get back within five. Rubin then forced a turnover, and made a jumper on her way down the court to make it 41-38.
Rubin forced a foul with 28 seconds left in the quarter, making both shots to get Pace within a point. Oskam tried a three with just a couple seconds remaining, but it would not go. Freshman guard
Stefanie Svoboda (Ossining, NY/Ossining) was in the right place at the right time, grabbing the offensive rebound and barely getting off a jumper before the buzzer sounded, swishing it as the backboard lit up to give Pace its first lead of the game at 42-41 heading into the fourth.
STAC quickly took the lead back on four straight free throws to open the fourth frame. Svoboda answered back with a layup, but Erickson followed with a three to put the Spartans up by four. Once again, Oskam responded with a three to cut the deficit back down to one. Rubin then hit a big three just over a minute later to give Pace a 50-48 advantage with 6:42 to play.
Henderson hit a layup to tie the game at 50-50, and then Erickson made two from the charity stripe to take the lead back for the Spartans with four minutes to go. Oskam then hit another clutch long ball to put Pace back in the lead, and added a free throw after the next possession to make it a two-point lead for the Setters. The lead grew to four points on a layup by Rubin, but Samantha Burden answered with a three for STAC to get within one. Grad student guard
Shanice Maynard (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson / Coppin State) went to the line and hit two to push the lead back to three, but it was quickly erased when Chelsea Murphy hit another STAC three to tie the game at 58-58.
Henderson broke the tie with two good free throws, and then Svoboda made 1-of-2 from the line to leave STAC up, 60-59. The Setters got the ball back with 10 seconds to play, but Rubin's contested jumper rimmed out, forcing Pace to foul. Alyson Brennan made both chances to increase STAC's lead to three, but the setters would get one final opportunity with two seconds left. Maynard tried to inbound the ball to Dodge, but the pass was tipped away, allowing the final seconds to expire before Pace could get one final shot off.
Rubin added six rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals to go with her game-best 19 points. Oskam's trio of threes helped her finish with 10 points on the afternoon. Svoboda matched Oskam with 10 points, also dishing out five assists to set new personal best marks in both categories. Dodge led all players with 12 boards.
Erickson and Henderson both contributed 16 points for the Spartans. Murphy helped with 10 more points, while Brennan tallied a team-high 11 rebounds.
Pace took a 45-36 edge in rebounds on Thursday. 17 offensive boards helped lead the Setters to an 18-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The Setters will get back to work in the New Year when they travel to Adelphi University for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup with the Panthers on Saturday, Jan. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
For all information regarding Pace University women's basketball log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace women's basketball on Twitter (
@PaceWBB) and Instagram (
@PaceWBB).
