PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Playing in their final game of 2017, the Pace University women's basketball team was defeated by Saint Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday afternoon, 58-53. The loss drops the Setters' record to 8-5 on the year while STAC moves to 11-1.

Inside the Numbers
*Junior Stefanie Svoboda (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led Pace scorers with 12 points in the contest. It was the fifth time this season that Svoboda reached double figures, and was her first in the last four games. Svoboda sank two longballs, matching senior Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) for the team lead.

*Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) put forth another strong offensive effort, scoring 10 points for Pace. The Setters' leading scorer for the season, the sophomore DelliSanti is now averaging 12.8 points per game.

*Pace's scoring was generated through strong ball movement, as the Setters recorded 15 assists, their highest total over their last seven games. Rosalbo, freshman Lauren Schetter (Beacon, NY/Beacon High School), and junior Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) led the team with three assists each.

*On the topic of Schetter, the freshman forward once again led the Blue and Gold in rebounds, hauling in eight boards. She pulled in two rebounds off the offensive glass, matching Olikhver and DelliSanti for the team lead on the day. Schetter now leads Pace with 81 total boards this year.

*The Setter defense forced 21 turnovers and registered eight steals against the Spartans. Schetter, DelliSanti, and Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) each posted two takeaways.

*St. Thomas Aquinas capitalized on their opportunities from the charity stripe, nailing ten straight free throws over the final three quarters en route to a 92.3 percent shooting day on the line. Conversely, Pace was 9-of-15 on free throws.
How it Happened
The Spartans and Setters came out the gates playing evenly, with neither squad managing to sustain runs without the opposing offense responding. St. Thomas Aquinas was able to build a three-point lead three and a half minutes into the first, but the Setters scored six unanswered to take a 10-7 lead. The Spartans closed out the quarter with four unanswered points to claim a 12-10 advantage heading into the second.

The second quarter told a similar story after STAC began the period with five points over the opening two minutes. Pace began to chip away via the long ball, eventually playing to a 20-20 tie with just under three minutes remaining courtesy of back-to-back threes from Svoboda. The Spartans responded with a deep ball of their own, but Svoboda sank a jumper with 90 seconds left on the clock to cut the STAC lead down to 23-22 at halftime.

Pace continued to ride the momentum they took at the end of the first half into the second, opening the third quarter on a 7-4 scoring advantage to take their first lead since the opening quarter at 29-27. The Spartans quickly brought the score back to even, as both teams played to three more deadlocked scores throughout the third. Tied a 37-37 with three minutes remaining, Pace closed out the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 42-39 advantage into the closing 10 minutes.

The Spartans swung momentum back in their favor to start the fourth, scoring nine unanswered to go up 48-42 with six and a half to play. Pace was able to draw back even with two consecutive threes from Rosalbo, and following back-to-back buckets by St. Thomas Aquinas, scored five unanswered points to take a 53-52 lead with two and a half minutes left in regulation. The Spartans were able to reclaim the lead with a last-minute layup, and sank four free throws in the closing seconds to hold the lead.

Up Next
Pace flips the calendar to 2018 with their first action of the New Year on Wednesday. The Setters travel to Southern New Hampshire University for a 5:30 p.m. contest to begin a nine-game streak of Northeat-10 Conference matchups.