PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 8 seed Pace University women's basketball team picked up the victory in the first round of the NE10 Conference Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament following a 60-48 win over No. 9 seed Saint Anselm College on Friday.
The Setters got off to a scorching start, hitting nine of their first 10 shots to take an early 20-12 lead. Off to a particularly strong start for the home team was junior guard
Katumina Mansaray (Ontario, Canada/Cardinal Newman Secondary School/Tilton School), who scored 10 points in the opening quarter as the Setters took a 27-14 lead into the second.
The Hawks cut into the lead early in the period, trimming the lead to nine points. But five straight points from freshman guard
Morgan Ryan (Plainfield, N.J./Rutgers Prep) brought the lead back up to double digits for the Blue and Gold. Saint Anselm ran much of their offense through sophomore Melanie Hoyt, who had 14 points in the first two quarters. A late basket by sophomore forward
Arianna Stockinger (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Putnam Valley), who finished the night with 12 points, extended the Setters lead to 10, as Pace went into halftime ahead by a 38-28 score.
An early three by grad student
Lauren Hackett (Commack, N.Y./St. Anthony's) got Pace going in the second half, as the Setters scored the first seven points of the third to take a commanding 45-28 lead. A pair of layups by Hoyt were part of six straight points for Saint Anselm, and a pair of Hawk free throws made it a 47-38 score heading into the final period.
Five straight points by Stockinger kickstarted Pace in the fourth. Following a steal by Hackett, a fastbreak layup by sophomore center
Tower Lorde (Saint Michael, Barbados/The St. Michael School), who led all Pace players with 13 points and seven rebounds, put the Setters ahead by 12 with just under four minutes remaining. A late basket by junior
Shanice Sinclair (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) put on the finishing touches as Pace claimed a 60-48 win in the opening round.
With the win, the Setters have won five of their last six games and advanced to 13-15 on the season. Saint Anselm fell to 12-15 overall.
The Setters now advance to the NE10 Conference Championship quarterfinals, where they will meet No. 1 seed Le Moyne College in a road matchup Sunday, Feb. 26. Game time for Sunday is at 1 p.m.
