WOMEN'S BASKETBALL KNOCKS OFF #16 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL
PLEASANTVILLE, NY- On Senior Night, the Pace University women's basketball team defeated #16 American International College, 69-41, in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up at the Goldstein Fitness Center on Pace's Pleasantville campus. The Setters improve to 20-7 overall, 15-7 in the NE-10, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 21-6 and 16-6 in conference play.
The Setters struck early and often in their regular season finale, taking an 18-5 lead midway through the opening period. The Yellow Jackets rallied to within seven points at the 4:40 mark but Pace closed out the half on a 7-0 run to take a 27-13 lead in to the break. The Setter defense held American International to 16.7% shooting from the field in the first half.
Pace continued their solid play into the second half, holding a double figure lead for the rest of the game. Leading 47-35 with 8:25 remaining in the game, the Setters closed out American International ending the game with a 22-6 run to win going away and defeat the nationally ranked Yellow Jackets 69-41. Senior Liran Buchris (Massad, Israel/Great Neck South) had a key trifecta to kick off the Setters final run, adding another bucket late, while fellow classmate Ashley Wallace (Oswego, NY/Oswego) had a pair of lay-ups and Stephanie Rossmy (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) added four points as well.
For the Setters, Wallace led a well-balance scoring attack, finishing with 14 points and four boards. Stephanie Klingele (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) and Senior Hannah Sheppard (Norwich, CT/Norwich Free) each scored 11 points, while Buchris added 10. Klingele, Rossmy, and Buchris tied for the team lead in rebounds with six apiece, while Buchris dished out a game-high 11 assists. Sheppard chipped in four boards and four assists as the seniors shined in their regular season home finale.
For American International, no player notched double-digits in points, as the Yellow Jackets shot 25.5% from the field for the game. Alexis Castro notched the point-high with nine. Jen Nnanna and Lexanne Dickson each scored seven, with Nnanna grabbing a game-high 12 boards.
The Setters return to action on when they host the First Round
of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament on Sunday, February 26,
at 2:00 pm against Le Moyne College.
