PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Pace University women's basketball team dropped its final game ahead of the winter break on Sunday afternoon, falling to Stonehill College, 67-63. The loss, the first of the season for the Setters at the Goldstein Fitness Center, drops Pace's record to 8-4 on the year.

Inside the Numbers
*Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) had a career night, leading the Setter offense with 27 points. The junior guard shot 12-of-26 from the field, including two-of-seven on three pointers. Monteleone sits as Pace's second-leading scorer on the season, averaging 12.8 points per game.

*A pair of first-year Setters rounded out the top-three Pace offensive performers. Freshman Lauren Schetter (Beacon, NY/Beacon High School) scored nine while junior Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) added eight, both players' highest offensive output over the last six games.

*Schetter once again was the leading rebounder for Pace, recording seven boards. She holds the team lead with 73 total rebounds on the season. The Blue and Gold registered six offensive rebounds in the contest, with Olikhver leading the team with two.

*The Pace defense matched their season-high with seven blocked shots against Stonehill. Freshman Naya Rivera (Pomona, NY/North Rockland) led the way with three, her single-game career high. She moves to second on the team with seven blocks this season.

*The Setters were able to jump ahead in the first half by shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc over the opening 20 minutes. After shooting five-of-ten in the first half however, Pace was unable to connect on their last seven long-ball attempts in the second.

*Shooting 70 percent in the fourth quarter, Stonehill outscored Pace 24-11 over the final 10 minutes to close the contest.

How it Happened
The Setters came storming out of the gates, connecting on three straight three-pointers to jump out to a 9-2 lead just two minutes into the contest. The early run set the tone of the first half, as Pace was able to control the flow of the first 20 minutes. The Blue and Gold extended their lead up to eight on three separate occasions in the opening quarter, but Stonehill was able to sink a final minute three-pointer to cut Pace's lead down to 17-12 at the end of the first.

Pace continued to control in the second, shooting 8-of-16 from the field in the quarter. Opening the period on a 9-0 run, the Setters were able to take their largest lead of the night at 26-12. The Skyhawks responded with 10 consecutive points of their own to trim the lead back down to four, but the Setters outscored Stonehill 10-4 over the final four minutes of the half to take a 36-26 lead, capped off by a buzzer-beating three by Monteleone.

Stonehill and Pace would open the second half with a back and forth third period. Neither team was able to sustain extended runs, as the offenses responded to opposing points with buckets of their own. The Setters closed out the final three minutes of the quarter by outscoring the Skyhawks, 8-6, but Stonehill was able to cut the Pace lead down to 52-43 ahead of the final quarter.

After trading layups over the opening two and a half minutes, Stonehill began their comeback run. A 10-2 run for the Skyhawks sliced the Setter lead down to a single point at 58-57 with five and a half left to play. The Setters put an end to the run with a Monteleone layup, but four answered points by Stonehill gave the Skyhawks their first lead since the game's opening bucket. The Setters reclaimed the lead at the two-minute mark, but Stonehill closed the game out on a 6-1 run to earn the 67-63 win.

Up Next
The Setters will return to action after winter break, hosting Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Dec. 30 at the Goldstein Fitness Center at 1:30 p.m.