Box Score

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Junior Shelley Pierson (Watervliet, N.Y.) scored a team-high 17 points on Tuesday night, but the Southern Connecticut State University women's basketball team was upended by Pace University, 73-66, at the Pace NYC Campus Civic Center. With the loss, the Owls have fallen to 11-12, 8-10 in the Northeast-10 Conference.

The first half of action featured a low scoring affair, coupled with nine turnovers from each team. After falling behind early, the Owls battled back with a strong run midway through the stanza. Pierson led the way with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Allyson Smith (East Hampton, Conn.) and Jacqueline Johannes (Southbury, Conn.) each added five of their own. After 20 minutes of play, Pace carried a 26-25 lead into halftime.

After the intermission, the Setters opened a 12 point lead on a 17-6 run over the first nine minutes of action. Pace forced eight Owl turnovers that led to 11 points on the offensive end. Furthermore, the Setters shot 48 percent from the floor in the second half, including 23 made free-throws.

Southern turned up the defense down the stretch, cutting their deficit to just six points with 2:46 remaining. However, the Setters connected on their attempts from the charity stripe in the waning minutes, hanging on to a crucial conference win.

Pierson closed with a team-high 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists for the Owls. Johannes finished with 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds. Smith tossed in 11 points, whereas Logan Lentz (Chambersburg, Pa.) added nine points and four assists in the losing effort.

The Owls return to action on Feb. 13 with a home game against AIC. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Moore Field House.