PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – On the way to posting a 3-0 start for a third consecutive year, the Pace University women's basketball team was victorious in their home opener against Adelphi University on Wednesday night by a score of 67-64. The Setters are now 1-0 against the Northeast-10 Conference.

Inside the Numbers
*Senior captain Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) had her best offensive game of the season so far, leading the Blue and Gold with 18 points in 35 minutes of play. The guard was 7-of-10 from the field, and was a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, her first three pointers of the season.

*Rosalbo's co-captain senior Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) also posted a season-high in points, scoring 13 with three three-pointers. Rounding out the top offensive performers were sophomore Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack), who eclipsed double digits for the third straight game with 12 points, and freshman Iliana Krasniqi (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde), who posted a season-best 10 points. Rosalbo and DelliSanti each had four assists to lead the team.

*DelliSanti was the leading rebounder for Pace, nabbing 13 boards en route to her first double-double of the year. The Setters combined for seven steals, led by two from both DelliSanti and Lauren Schetter (Fishkill, NY/Beacon High School). Despite shooting 38.2 percent from the field compared to Adelphi's 42.9 percent, the Setters hit 33.3 percent of shots beyond the arc. Pace won the turnover battle, 17-16.

How it Happened
Adelphi maintained the lead for most of the opening quarter, quickly responding to defending NE10 Player of the Week Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane)'s first basket 30 seconds into the game. A pair of free throws and a three-pointer put the Panthers ahead with a lead that they would hold until two and half minutes remained in the first. The two teams traded the lead four times in the closing minutes, with Adelphi taking a 15-14 lead into the second quarter.

The two squads continued to play evenly opening the second, trading the lead five times in the span of two minutes. The Panthers were able to build some separation with a 9-0 run in the tail-end of the quarter, eventually padding a 10-point lead heading into halftime. The 37-27 deficit was the largest Pace faced all night.

The Blue and Gold began to immediately chip away starting the second half, with Rosalbo and Rubin making their first two baskets of the half to cut the Adelphi lead to five. Adelphi was able to hold off the Setters momentarily, but two more three-pointers off the hands of Rubin knotted the score back up to 40-40 midway through the third. The Panthers responded with a streak of their own, outscoring the Blue and Gold 9-4 in the closing minutes to head into the final quarter with a 49-44 lead.

The Setters kicked off the fourth quarter with seven unanswered points in the first minute and a half to take a narrow 51-49 lead. DelliSanti led the charge with five of the points. Adelphi would push the score to 53-53, but a bucket from DelliSanti gave Pace a 55-53 lead with just over six minutes left that they would never look back from.

The Blue and Gold extended their lead to six with four straight from Rosalbo. The Panthers were able to fight back to cut the lead to a single point in the final minute, but the trio of DelliSanti, Rosalbo, and Rubin went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to protect the lead as Adelphi's final second three-point attempt missed the bucket.

Up Next
The Setters look for their first 4-0 start since 2011 when they return to action this weekend. Pace will hit the road to take on Post University on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tipoff.