WEST HAVEN, Conn. – With a lockdown defensive effort that allowed the second fewest points in a game this season, the Pace University women's basketball team extended their win streak to three straight contests with a 57-42 victory at the University of New Haven on Tuesday night. The win improves the Setters' record to 13-11 on the year, and moves their conference mark this season to 9-7.

Inside the Numbers
*Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) led the offense with 16 points. The senior co-captain was deadly from beyond the arc, shooting four-of-six on three pointers for the night. Rubin also pulled in three rebounds.
 
*Kristina Olikhver (Moscow, Russia/Saint Andrew's) was the only other Setter to reach double figures, scoring 11 points. The junior guard was four-of-six from the field, and led the team with two rebounds on the offensive end.

*The usual suspects for the Pace offense, Jackie DelliSanti (Commack, NY/Commack) and Alexandra Monteleone (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane), added eight points apiece.

*Geena Rosalbo (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) was the leading rebounder for the night, matching her season high with six boards. Nine different players recorded a rebound for the Setters, who won the battle on the boards, 32-24.

*The Setters' defense limited New Haven to just 16-of-48 shooting from the field. The 33.3 shooting percentage is the lowest by a Setters opponent since Jan. 3, while the 42 points allowed is the second-fewest surrendered by Pace this season.

*For a second straight game, the defensive unit reached double figures in steals. Pace recorded 11 takeaways against New Haven, with Rosalbo, Iliana Krasniqi (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde), and Stefanie Svoboda (Ossining, NY/Ossining) leading the way with two apiece. The Setters have now registered 29 steals in their last two games.

How it Happened
Pace was able to get on the board first, but it took two and a half minutes for the Setters offense to begin to click. Trailing 3-1 early, the Setters scored eight unanswered points to pull ahead 9-3 at the six minute mark. New Haven responded with a 7-2 run, but Rosalbo was able to regain some distance for the Blue and Gold with the first three-pointer of the game with 2:12 left in the first period to put Pace ahead 14-10. The Chargers, however, responded immediately with a deep ball of their own on the other side of the court and made a basket in the closing seconds to take the 15-14 lead into the second.
 
With some defensive adjustments heading into the second, the Setters were able to shut down the New Haven offense to close out the first half. The Chargers failed to make a field goal in the second quarter, scoring just four points off of free throws. Pace took advantage of the New Haven cold streak, retaking the lead off a Rubin layup at 8:43, 16-15. After the Chargers got their first point of the quarter more than six minutes in off a free throw, Rubin responded with two straight makes from beyond the arc, while a Rosalbo steal and layup with under two minutes remaining in the half put Pace ahead 26-17. New Haven was able to connect on their final two free throws of the half to cut the Pace lead to 26-19 at halftime.

New Haven opened the scoring to begin the second half, their first basket in more than 11 minutes. Despite firing the opening salvo, it was the Pace offense that continued to control to game. The Setters went on an 11-4 run over the first five and a half minutes, capped off by Rubin's third three-pointer of the game to extend the Pace lead to 37-23. The Chargers were able to put together their first sustained offensive charge since the first quarter with a 6-2 run in just over a minute to pull New Haven closer with less than three minutes left in the third, 39-29. Following more than two minutes of scoreless action, a layup from Krasniqi with 20 seconds left on the clock gave Pace a 41-29 advantage heading into the fourth.

The Chargers opened up the first two and a half minutes of the fourth on a slight 5-2 scoring advantage to chip the Pace lead down to single digits, 43-34. The Setters responded with an 8-2 run bookended by threes from Olikhver and Rubin to regain breathing room for Pace, ahead 51-36 with four minutes remaining. New Haven was able to score six unanswered points to pull back to within nine with two minutes remaining, but the Blue and Gold would score six straight to secure the 57-42 victory.

Up Next
The four-game road trip rolls on as the Setters return to action over the weekend. Pace faces off with Adelphi University on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. contest.