PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Storming out of the gates early and never relenting, the Pace University women's basketball team won its fourth straight contest on Saturday afternoon, defeating Le Moyne College by a final of 74-54. The Setters improve to 7-1 on the year and remain unbeaten in the conference, improving to 4-0 against the Northeast-10.

Inside the Numbers
*Making her first game appearance in two weeks, senior co-captain Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) returned to the lineup with a force, dropping a season-high 24 points. It is the third time this season that a Setters' scorer has scored 24 points, and the first time since Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) did it against LIU Post on Nov. 12. Rubin led Pace with four three-pointers in the contest.

*Joining Rubin in double digits was junior Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), who scored 11. The second highest-scorer on the team for the season, Monteleone has now scored 10 or more points in five of Pace's games this season.

*Leading the rebound category for a second straight game, freshman Lauren Schetter (Beacon, NY/Beacon High School) recorded eight boards in the contest. Schetter now leads the Blue and Gold for the season with 50 rebounds.

*Junior Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) was right behind Schetter, nabbing a season-best seven off the glass.

*For the second time in three games, the Setters' defense generated double-digit steals. The strong defensive play forced 25 Le Moyne turnovers and registered 15 takeaways, the team's second highest mark for the year. Schetter and DelliSanti led the effort with four steals each.

*The Setters had their best shooting night of the season so far against the Dolphins, shooting 21-of-44 from the field for a .477 mark. Pace was also sinking the long ball, making eight-of-20 from three-point land.  

How it Happened
The Blue and Gold took command midway through the first quarter and were able to control the tempo for the remainder of the game. Le Moyne took a 4-2 lead two and a half minutes into regulation, but that would be the only time that Pace would find themselves trailing all night. The Setters took the lead on an 8-0 run over the following five minutes to put pressure on the Le Moyne offense to respond. The Setters' defense, meanwhile, employed a strong press to force confusion for the Dolphin ball handlers, and the Blue and Gold took a 15-8 lead into the second quarter.

The Setters followed their strong play in the first with an explosive 11-0 run to open the second, taking an 18-point lead just two and a half minutes into the quarter. With a comfortable lead to work with, the Setters' defense continued to force turnovers. Pace recorded 10 steals and forced 15 Le Moyne turnovers over the first 20 minutes, allowing the offense to get into a rhythm. Pace outscored Le Moyne, 22-16, in the quarter, taking a 37-24 lead into halftime.

With offense controlling the game for the first half, both squads came out defensive for the third. After four points by the Dolphins to open up the half and a responding three-pointer by Monteleone, both offenses went cold for three minutes, unable to convert baskets. The shooters regained their footing in the closing minutes of the frame as Pace outscored Le Moyne, 10-9, to head into the fourth with a 50-37 advantage.

The Blue and Gold continued their defensive schemes to effectively put the game to rest in the fourth. Le Moyne showed signs of resilience towards the start of the quarter, matching Pace basket for basket and chipping the Setters lead down to 10 with five minutes to play. However, the Setter defense roared back to life and held Le Moyne scoreless over the next four minutes to allow Pace to go on an 11-0 run to go up 71-50 with just under two minutes remaining, eventually winning the contest with a 74-54 final.

Up Next
Looking for their first 5-0 start against the NE10 since the 2010-11 season, the Setters return to action on Tuesday to take on the University of New Haven. Tip-off at the Goldstein Fitness Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.