Boxscore
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A layup by Stephanie Rossmy with less than a minute to play gave Pace the lead for good as they defeated the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team, 78-77 in Northeast-10 Conference play at Moore Fieldhouse. SCSU senior forward Kate Lynch (Rumford, R.I.) led all scorers with 25 points and added 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. Taylor Losey led four Pace players in double figures with 21 points. With the loss, SCSU falls to 14-9 (10-8 NE-10), while Pace improves to 7-11 (8-15 NE-10) with the victory.
For the initial portion of the game the two teams traded buckets. Then, four minutes into the first half, SCSU went on a 13-3 run, featuring points from five Owls, to take a 19-9 lead with 8:23 remaining in the half. After another six-plus minutes of back-and-forth action, Pace would close the stanza on a 7-0 run to cut the SCSU lead to 34-28 at the halftime break.
Lynch led all scorers in the first half with 12 points. Senior guard Michelle Martinik (Monroe, Conn.) tied for the first-half lead in rebounds with six and also handed out a half-high three assists.
For Pace, Rossmy and Losey shared the scoring lead with nine points each. Stephanie Klingele matched Martinik with six rebounds in the opening period.
SCSU would extend the lead to as many as 13 at 44-31 with 17:38 to play, as they opened the second half with a 10-3 run. From there, it was all Setters, as Pace put together a 17-4 run to tie the game at 48-48 with 13:09 to play. The teams would trade buckets much of the remainder of the contest, with the game seeing 11 more ties before Rossmy's layup put Pace ahead to stay. Lynch went to the foul line in a one-and-one situation with 2.1 seconds to play, but could convert only the first free throw as Pace went on to a 78-77 victory.
Lynch led all scorers on the evening with 25 points and added 10 rebounds to post her fifth double-double of the season. Sophomore forward Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn.) and senior forward Rochelle Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.) each contributed 14 points while Martinik added 13 to make it four Owls in double figures. Martinik also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out seven assists to narrowly miss a triple-double. Lynch also dished out seven helpers as well.
For Pace, Losey led the way with 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the floor and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Stephanie Klingele (20 points), Rossmy (14) and Brittany Huggins (10) made it four Setters in double digits. Klingele matched Lynch for the game high with 10 rebounds to post a double-double of her own on the evening.
SCSU shot 33-for-70 (47.1%) from the floor, 5-for-18 (27.8%) from three-point range and 6-for-11 (54.5%) from the free-throw line on the evening.
Pace shot 28-for-58 (48.3%) from the field, 4-for-13 (30.8%) from behind the arc and 18-for-25 (72.0%) from the charity stripe.
SCSU wore pink uniforms for the second time this week as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) 'Think Pink' program promoting breast cancer awareness. The Owls will also sport the pink jerseys in their game on Saturday.
The Owls return to action on Saturday, Feb. 16 when they visit Bryant in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I.
