SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Fueled by another big second half, the Pace University women's basketball team was able to hold off American International College on Wednesday night, defeating the Yellow Jackets by a final score of 65-55. The Setters improve to 6-1 on the year with the win, and are now 3-0 against the Northeast-10 Conference for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Inside the Numbers
*Three members of the Blue and Gold scored in double figures to guide Pace the Pace offense. Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) led the Setters with a team-high 19 points. The sophomore guard is now averaging a team-leading 14.4 points per game.

*Stefanie Svoboda (Ossining, NY/Ossining) came out big in the second half, scoring all 16 of her points in the final 20 minutes to help build distance between Pace and AIC. The junior guard has now posted double-digit points for three consecutive games, with Wednesday's output marking a new season-high.

*Senior Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) also scored 16 points, her highest scoring output in the past four games. The team's co-captain shot 4-for-7 from the field and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.

*Lauren Schetter (Beacon, NY/Beacon High School) led the Setters in boards for the night, nabbing eight rebounds. DelliSanti was right behind her making plays on the glass, picking up seven rebounds of her own. The two are now tied for the team lead in rebounds this season with 42.

*Coming off a 20-steal performance on Monday night, the Setters' defense continued to make plays, recording nine steals on the night. DelliSanti led Pace with four takeaways, while Rosalbo added three.

*The Setters effectively put the game away with clutch foul shooting in the fourth quarter, shooting 15-of-18 from the free-throw line in the final 10 minutes. Pace buried 84 percent of their free throws on the night compared to AIC's 57.1 percentage from the charity stripe.

How it Happened
Following a pair of wins by comfortable margins, Pace was greeted by a Yellow Jackets team that was determined to give the first-place Setters a fight. Pace took an early lead with a layup by Rosalbo in the opening minute, and while the Setters maintained the advantage for the remainder of the quarter, AIC responded to points by the Setters with buckets of their own.

Pace took a 13-10 lead into the second, but were unable to find a way to pad the advantage as both offenses struggled to get much going for most of the quarter. After the Yellow Jackets pulled to within one with a little under four minutes to play, the Setters were able to generate an offensive spurt that stemmed from the free-throw line. Rosalbo and Schetter went 4-for-4 in foul shots, while a layup from Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) gave Pace their largest lead of the half at 23-16 with a minute to play. A late AIC basket sent the Setters to the locker room up 23-20.

AIC began the second half with a 6-0 run to take a 26-23 edge and put Pace in the biggest hole they would face on the night. Svoboda quickly provided an answer, scoring her first points of the night with a deep ball to pull the score back even. The Blue and Gold outscored AIC over the final five minutes of the quarter by a 15-7 margin to lead 41-33.

Finding their offensive footing in a similar fashion as they did in the second quarter, the Setters capitalized on AIC foul trouble to maintain the lead. The Yellow Jackets pulled to within four with four minutes remaining in regulation, but Pace held off any rumblings of a comeback with 12-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line to close out the game, including sinking their final seven foul shots.

Up Next:
The Setters look to continue their strong start against conference opponents when they return home this weekend to take on Le Moyne College. The NE10 matchup is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff, as Pace celebrates Alumni Day and Military Appreciation Day.