PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. --  Despite staking claim to a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Pace University women's basketball team was defeated by the College of Saint Rose on Tuesday night, 51-49. With the loss, the Setters end the regular season with an overall record of 15-13 and a conference mark of 11-9, earning the No. 3 seed in the Southwest Region for the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament. Pace draws a matchup against second-seeded Bentley University on Sunday (3 p.m.).

Inside the Numbers
*Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) ended the regular season with one of her best games as a member of the Blue and Gold, leading the offense with 12 points. Olikhver was four-of-nine from the field, with all of her baskets coming from beyond the arc. The four three pointers was a season high for the junior guard.
 
*Being honored on their Senior Night, team co-captains Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and Gabreilla Rubin each put forward strong efforts, combining for 18 points. Rubin ended the night as the second-highest scorer for Pace with 10 points, adding four rebounds. Rosalbo also had four boards on her ledger and was third in scoring for the Blue and Gold with eight points.

*Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) led the team rebounding effort for a third straight contest. The sophomore guard hauled in 10 boards, ending the regular season with 26 rebounds across the last three games.

*The Setters played a clean game avoiding whistles. The 12 personal fouls by Pace set a new low for the season, while the eight free throw attempts by Saint Rose was the fewest by any Setters opponent this year.

*The Golden Knights shot 55 percent from the field in the second half to close out the contest.

How it Happened
The Setters got off to a hot start, taking an early 6-0 lead to open the contest. While Saint Rose was able to respond with eight consecutive points of their own, Pace went on a 14-2 run over the final five minutes of the first quarter to take a 20-10 lead into the second. The offensive explosion was capped off by a Rosalbo buzzer-beating three pointer from beyond half court.

While the dramatic end to the first pointed to momentum riding with the Setters, the Pace offense was shut down by Saint Rose in the second. The Setters shot 9.1 percent from the field to close out the half, scoring just four points in the frame. The Golden Knights capitalized on the Setter cold spell, chipping away at the Pace lead. When all was said and done at the end of twenty minutes, the Golden Knights were on top, 25-24.

Pace was able to find their groove again to open the second half, shooting seven-of-11 in the third quarter. While Saint Rose would nurse their lead for the first five minutes of the period, an Olikhver three put Pace ahead at the 4:55 mark. Saint Rose would pull even twice in the third, but the Setters never relented, ending the quarter with a three from Italee Brown-Smikle (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) and a pair of free throws from Rosalbo to take a 42-38 lead into the fourth.

The Golden Knights saved their best shooting effort for the end, connecting on five of their eight shots in the fourth quarter to hold off the Setters. The Pace offense fell into a lull once again, shooting three-of-14 to end the night. While the Setters were able to hold the lead for most of the quarter, a layup from Karissa Birthwright put Saint Rose ahead 48-46 with 1:44 left on the clock.

With both defenses pulling out all the stops in crunch time, the next point wouldn't come for more than a minute when Birthwright connected on one of two free throw attempts with 17 seconds remaining. While the time on the clock was more than enough for Rubin to hit a clutch three pointer to knot the game at 49-49 with 11 seconds left, the Golden Knights were able to run down the court and connect on a layup with two ticks remaining. Rubin was unable to replicate her heroics as her buzzer beater attempt missed the mark and Saint Rose secured the 51-49 victory.

Up Next
The Northeast-10 Conference Championship tournament begins on Friday. The Setters have earned a first round bye, and will take on the Falcons of Bentley University at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Massachusetts.