NEW YORK, N.Y. – A hot second half for junior Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) led to her matching a career-high 25 points in Wednesday evening's Northeast-10 Conference matchup against American International College (AIC) at Pace's New York City campus. She led a late run for Pace at the Civic Center Gym, but the Setters ultimately fell in the final minute by a score of 61-56.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST QUARTER
- Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) kicked things off with a quick layup on the first play of the game to give the Setters the early advantage.
- Back-to-back layups by junior Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and Rubin gave Pace an 8-3 lead in the first six minutes, while the Setters held the Yellow Jackets without a field goal until Rashana Siders hit a three at the 3:03 mark to make it an 8-6 game.
- Graduate student Jaclyn Oskam (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central / Quinnipiac University) drained a three with 1:40 to go in the first frame to put Pace up by seven, but AIC's Alyssa Guyon drew a foul while finishing a layup, completing a three-point play with just 48 seconds left to cut the deficit to 13-9 heading into the second period.
 
2ND QUARTER
- AIC opened the second frame with five straight points to take its first lead of the game, but Oskam fired back with a three to put the Setters on top, 16-14.
- Rubin followed with a jumper, and drew a foul the next time down the court, making both shots to improve Pace's lead to 20-14.
- AIC then went on a 12-1 run to take claim to a 26-21 edge with 2:08 to play in the half.
- Senior Kirsten Dodge (Fabius, NY/Fabius-Pompey) made a layup to halt AIC's momentum, but the Yellow Jackets took it back with the final four points of the half, taking a 30-23 lead into the break.
 
HALFTIME STATS
- Rubin led the Setters with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in the first half, while Oskam hit a pair of threes for six points.
- AIC was led by Imani Stepney's 10 points through the first 20 minutes.
 
3RD QUARTER
- Rubin quickly set the tone for her second half with a jumper on the Setters' first possession of the third.
- She later hit a layup with 3:41 left in the period to get Pace within five.
- After AIC's Dana Watts put one off the glass for two, sophomore Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) drained a big three to once again get Pace back within five.
- With the Setters down nine with under a minute to play in the third, Rubin swished a three to cut the deficit to six.
- With just three seconds left in the frame, Rubin drained another three to send the game into the fourth with a 46-41 lead in favor of the visitors.
 
4TH QUARTER
- Rubin hit yet another three at the 8:29 mark to make it a four-point game.
- Monteleone managed to drop one into the net after being fouled, and made the ensuing free throw to get Pace within three with 7:47 to play.
- Senior Aurellia Cammock (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore / Iona College) then drew a foul, making both chances to make it a one-point game.
- Rubin was later sent to the line with 5:26 to play after AIC took a technical foul, making both shots to put the Setters in the lead, 51-50.
- Monteleone followed that up with a layup to give Pace a three-point advantage with just 4:49 to go.
- At the 3:07 mark, Watts hit a pair of foul shots, once again tying the game at 53-53.
- Jayda Gilmore drew a three-point play for the Yellow Jackets with 2:29 to go, leaving them on top by three.
- Dodge drew a foul at the 2:13 mark, and made 1-of-2 to get the Setters within two.
- After two minutes of silence, a clutch block by Rosalbo led Rubin down the court for an opportunity to tie, and she came up big with a jumper from the elbow to tie the game at 56-56.
- Watts then managed to make a layup with nine seconds left, and a pair of fouls by Pace shortly after led to three more points for the Yellow Jackets, helping them secure a five-point win.
 
SETTER STATS
- Rubin's 25 points, which included 17 second-half points and a trio of threes, led all scorers on the evening.
- Rosalbo stacked the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot.
- Cammock grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
- Dodge and Oskam each blocked two shots, leading to a total of seven for the Setters in the game.
 
AIC LEADERS
- Watts completed a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards on the evening, while also blocking three shots.
- Stepney also reached double figures with 15 points and 11 caroms.
 
RECORDS
- Pace: 4-3 (0-3 NE-10)
- AIC: 4-3 (3-1 NE-10)
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
- The Setters return to the Goldstein Fitness Center for a non-conference game against Molloy College on Friday, Dec. 2 at 11 a.m. for Court to the Classroom Day.
 
For all information regarding Pace University women's basketball, log on to www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Women's Basketball on Facebook (Pace Women's BBall), Twitter (@PaceWBB) and Instagram (@PaceWBB).
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