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Media Credit: Alex Pandolfi Lisa Welsome put up a game high total of 22 points along with four three pointers.

Dec. 4, Pleasantville- The Setters women's basketball team faced off against Northeast 10 Conference (NE-10) rival Golden Knights of Saint Rose College looking to improve their record. Instead Pace was left with a close and painful 63-60 loss to Saint Rose.

Saint Rose was looking to put the Setters down early when the Golden Knights shot their way to an early 6-0 lead off of two three pointers. The Setters were scoreless until the third minute of game when senior guard Stephanie Klingele lifted for a lay up, putting the Setters on the scoreboard with a 6-2 score.

Even with Pace on the scoreboard the Golden Knights kept extending their lead to maintain a safe distance from the Setters.

After freshman forward Kristen Connolly sunk in a three pointer making the score 8-7 in favor of Saint Rose, Golden Knights' senior guard Suzana Sormaz made a three point shot of her own soon after to bring Saint Rose's lead to 11-7 about midway through the first half.

While Saint Rose maintained their lead the Setters remained in good striking distance of that lead for the remainder of the first half.

With under a minute left in the first half the Golden Knights were leading 23-22 and were looking good to go back to the locker room at halftime with the lead.

Pace's senior guard Christine Fitzgerald had different thoughts about that by draining a shot from three point land with 34 seconds remaining in the first half, giving the Setters a 25-22 lead which they hoped to keep until halftime.

Unfortunately for the Setters, in this case 34 seconds was a long time as a three pointer by Sormaz and a lay up by Emily Gottstein just as the clock ran out in the opening half gave the Golden Knights the halftime lead they were looking for with a 28-25 score.

At the half freshman guard for the Setters Lisa Welsome led the team with seven points and on the other side of the court Sormaz led Saint Rose with eleven points.

Both teams did not display poor play in the first half with a total of 24 turnovers amongst both teams. Pace turned over the ball eleven times, while Saint Rose turned it over 13 times.

Pace's struggle ending the first half continued as they entered the second half. Within the first minute of the final half Golden Knights junior forward Ashley Anderson put in a lay up, giving Saint Rose a five point 30-25 lead.

The Setters still kept close with the Golden Knights bring their deficit to one when the score became 41-40, but they could not pull the trigger as a trifecta from Sormaz brought the score to 44-40 extending the Golden Knights lead to four.

The Setters would comeback again and this time would tie the game up at 48 when Welsome fired off a three pointer. This tie would be short as Saint Rose took the lead once again.

With a little over two minutes left in the game, Klingele stole the ball, eventually leading up to a lay up by Fitzgerald that would bring the score to 58-56 giving the Setters the elusive lead they had been looking this entire game.

After two three point shots from the Saint Rose, the Golden Knights were in control once again when they brought the score to 62-58.

Fitzgerald would go on to elevate for another lay up, bringing the deficit to two. After sophomore guard Elizabeth Buckley sunk in a free throw giving Saint Rose a three point 63-60 lead the Setters had one last chance to bring the game to overtime.

Buckley made her first free throw but missed her second foul shot, allowing Fitzgerald to rebound and pass to freshman forward Brittany Huggins who had five seconds to launch a three point shot for the tie.

Unfortunately for Huggins and the Setters, her shot fell just short of the rim giving the Setters a 63-60 loss.

In the evening, Welsome led the Setters in scoring with a game high 22 points and also took down a team high eight rebounds. Fitzgerald led Pace in assists dishing out seven.

With the loss the Setters fall to 1-5 overall with a 1-4 record in the NE-10, while Saint Rose improves to 2-3 overall with a 1-3 NE-10 record.

Women's basketball has no more home games for the remainder of the semester but do play some games over the winter break when they face off against Bloomfield on Dec. 28 for Pace University's Holiday Classic.

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