PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Sophomore
Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) finished with 19 points on Saturday, as the Pace University women's basketball team picked up its game late to earn a 64-58 overtime victory over Merrimack College in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The Setters' record improves to 9-7 overall, 4-4 NE-10 with the win, while the Warriors fall to 7-5, 4-4 NE-10.
To begin the overtime period, Merrimack's Tia Scott finished a layup at the 4:40 mark. Pace stayed poised as freshman
Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) split two shots at the charity stripe and Rubin knocked down a three assisted to give the Setters back the lead by a score of 54-52. Merrimack answered with a three of its own 16 seconds later, but graduate student
Jaclyn Oskam (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central / Quinnipiac University) drilled a long ball with 3:33 remaining in overtime to take a 57-55 advantage. Pace never looked back as they went 5-of-8 from the free-throw line, and an Oskam jumper with 36 seconds left helped ice the game for the six-point win.
The Warriors went on an 11-0 run to start off the fourth quarter to take a 46-41 lead. Senior
Yuni Sher (Poughkeepsie, NY/Long Island Lutheran) came up with a layup at the 6:30 mark to cut Merrimack's lead to 46-43. Graduate student
Shanice Maynard (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson / Coppin State) knocked down a jumper at the 3:14 mark, then Rubin made a jumper of her own at 1:47, but Merrimack was still ahead, 50-47. Rubin was then fouled at the 1:09 mark, and connected on 1-of-2 free throws. With 20 seconds remaining in regulation, Merrimack's My'Asia Alston fouled Sher, giving her a chance to tie. She came up clutch by draining both foul shots, sending the game to the extra period.
At the half Rubin led all scorers with 10 points and pulled down five boards to help the Setters finish the second quarter with a 30-19 lead. The Setters led, 41-25, with 2:12 left in the third, but the Warriors battled back by finishing the quarter with a 10-0 run to get within six. That turned into a 21-0 run combined with the 11-0 start to the fourth.
Rubin added eight rebounds and a team-high five assists to her 19 points. Sher finished with a team-best 11 rebounds, as well as five points and three blocks. Maynard contributed 13 points, six boards, three blocks and two assists.
Merrimack's Tia Scott registered a triple-double in the loss, tallying 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Caitlyn Garger finished with a game-high 25 points and grabbed five rebounds.
The Setters return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 12, when they visit Saint Michael's College for a Northeast-10 Conference showdown. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 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).
