PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – After winning four of its last five regular season games to earn a First Round home game in the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Championships, the Pace University women's basketball team, the No. 4-seed out of the Southwest Division, fell to the Northeast-Division's No. 5-seed Merrimack College, 63-51, Friday evening at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The loss eliminated the Setters from the postseason, while the Warriors advance to take on the Northeast's top team, Bentley University.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST QUARTER
- The Setters fell into an early hole, trailing 11-6 with 3:03 left in the first quarter.
- Merrimack kept up the pace for the rest of the frame to take a 16-10 lead into the second.
2ND QUARTER
- The Setters scored the first four points of the second quarter to pull within two, but Denia Davis-Stewart managed to make a layup for the Warriors to keep them on top.
- Senior
Christina Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic / Iona College) then drained a three, followed by a good jumper by graduate student
Jaclyn Oskam (Glenmont, NY/Bethlehem Central / Quinnipiac University) to put the Setters on top, 19-18.
- Rubin then drained another long ball to cap off a 12-2 run for the Setters that put them on top, 22-18, with 5:50 left in the half.
- Merrimack fired back with five straight points to go back into the lead, but senior
Aurellia Cammock (Brooklyn, NY/South Shore / Iona College) took it right back for the Setters with a strong layup.
- Sophomore
Heather Kiczek (Wallkill, NY/Wallkill) then drained a jumper to make it a three-point game, but the Warriors strung together the next four points to once again jump ahead.
- The teams traded free throws to leave Merrimack on top, 29-28, with 1:20 left in the half.
- Hannah Neild made a three for Merrimack with 41 seconds on the clock, but Rubin came down the court and sank her fourth triple of the game, leaving Pace down, 32-31, heading into the locker room.
HALFTIME STATS
- Rubin went 4-of-7 from three-point range in the first half, leading to a game-high 14 points.
- Lexi Martin led the Warriors at the break with eight points and six boards.
THIRD QUARTER
- Merrimack opened the third with a 10-2 run to take a 42-33 lead with 6:47 left in the period.
- The deficit shrunk to eight after Oskam put one off the glass, but the visitors finished the period on a 6-1 run to take a 53-40 advantage into the fourth.
FOURTH QUARTER
- The Setters trailed by 13 before Rubin hit another three with 6:02 left to play.
- Freshman
Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) followed with a layup to make it an eight-point game.
- The Warriors scored the next eight points, making the deficit too much to overcome and leading to the visitors' 12-point win.
SETTER STATS
- Rubin matched her career-high of 20 points in her final game as a Setter. She made five three-pointers in the game, and also added three assists and three steals.
- Senior
Kirsten Dodge (Fabius, NY/Fabius-Pompey) finished up with eight points and tied for the game-high of 13 rebounds.
- Oskam dished out a game-best five assists.
WARRIOR LEADERS
- Martin led the Warriors with 18 points and four assists, narrowly missing a double-double with nine boards.
- Davis-Stewart got the double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, as well as a pair of blocks.
- Neild came off the bench to add 13 points after hitting three long balls.
RECORDS
- Pace: 14-15
- Merrimack: 13-14
For all information regarding Pace University women's basketball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow Pace Women's Basketball on Facebook (
Pace Women's BBall), Twitter (
@PaceWBB) and Instagram (
@PaceWBB).
