WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS SHORT AT SAINT ROSE, 78-75
ALBANY, NY - The Pace University women's basketball team lost a tough Northeast-10 Conference battle to the Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose, 78-75, tonight at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. Pace falls to 4-11 overall on the year, 4-7 in the NE-10, while St. Rose improves to 8-7 overall and 5-6 in conference play.
Pace had four players score in double figures led by senior guard Stephanie Klingele's (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) team-high 18 points, going 3-for-9 from beyond the arc and 7-for-9 from the free throw line. Klingele has now converted 211 career three pointers, putting her three trifecta's away from tying Pace's all-time record. She has also moved up to ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,221 career points. Freshman Kristin Connolly (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) finished the night with 16 points and six rebounds, connecting on 4-for-9 from three. Sophomore Taylor Losey (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Stephanie Rossmy (Staten Island, NY/St. John Villa) chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
St. Rose had three players in double figures, including a pair of Golden Knights recording double doubles. Emily Gottstein led all scorers with a game-high 27 points shooting 11-for-13 from the field, to go along with 11 rebounds, while Ashley Anderson finished the night with 19 points going 9-for-12 from the field, to go with a game-high 13 rebounds. Elizabeth Buckley chipped in with 15 points.
Pace held the largest lead of the half taking a seven point lead on two occasions as the Setters led 11-4 (16:21) and 13-6 (15:36). Klingele led the early run scoring nine of the 13 points. The Golden Knights quickly erased their deficit using a 7-0 run to tie the game for the first time at 13 with 14:13 left in the half. The first half would feature four ties and three lead changes. Down by five, 32-27, with 4:51 remaining in the half, the Setters you use a 10-0 run to take a five point lead of their own, 37-32. Losey led the run scoring seven of the 10 points. A layup by Ivana Stojadinov with 16 seconds remaining ended the Golden Knights scoring drought and made the game 37-34, but the Setters would go into the half with a six point lead, 40-34, on a three pointer by freshman Brittany Huggins (Windsor, CT/Windsor).
The Setter led for much of the second half as the teams traded baskets. Pace led by as many as eight points, their largest lead of the game, on two occasions, 42-34 (19:49) and 53-45 (16:31). The Golden Knights would erase their eight-point deficit and retake the lead using a 14-2 run. St. Rose would eventually push their lead to seven, 66-59, with 8:18 left in the game. Pace would come back and tie the game for the fifth and final time at 66 at the 6:51 mark on a pair of free throws by Connolly. Connolly would later give Pace the lead again, 69-68, on a three-pointer, but the lead would not last long as Dana Brown answered with a three of her own, which gave St. Rose a 71-69 advantage with 4:46 remaining in the game. The Golden Knights would lead the rest of the way as Brown helped push their advantage to seven, 76-69, on a pair of free throws at the 3:20 mark. St. Rose would hold off the Setters taking the 78-75 victory.
Pace finished the game shooting 36.5% (23-for-63) from the floor, including 32.4% (12-for-37) from beyond the arc. The Setters went 17-for-25 (68.0%) from the charity stripe. St. Rose finished the game shooting 48.3% (29-for-60), but shot just 26.7% (4-for-15) from three. The Golden Knights went 16-for-23 (69.6%) from the line. St. Rose also won the battle of the glass 42-38.
With tonight's win, the Golden Knights sweep the season series against the Setters as St. Rose defeated Pace earlier this season, 63-60, back on December 4th in Pleasantville.
Pace will be back in action this Saturday, January
19th, as the Setters will take on the Deacons of
Bloomfield College in a non-conference match at the Civic Center
Gymnasium on the New York City campus of Pace University. Tip-off
is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.