PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Southern Connecticut women's basketball defeated Pace, 56-49 in an NE10 matchup on Wednesday. The Setters dropped to an overall record of 5-8 and an NE10 record of 1-3. The Owls improved to an overall record of 7-4 and an NE10 record of 2-1.
Ally Sentance had a team-best of 14 points, as she hit a team-best of three three-pointers, had three boards and a team-best of two steals. Rheyna and
Taeya Steinauer both had 11 points, as Rheyna grabbed five boards and had two steals.
Jillian Martin had a team-best of three assists, two steals and seven boards,
Hope Fox had two steals and four boards.
Tish Blackwood had a team-best of eight rebounds against the Setters.
In the first quarter, Pace got on the board first but
Tish Blackwood responded with a made layup in the paint, to tie the game. The Setters hit a three-pointer after that but
Taeya Steinauer and
Rheyna Steinauer both made three-pointers, to take their first lead of the game.
Hope Fox and
Arianna Gerkin added points to the Owls' lead of 11-6, with three minutes left. However, Pace hit key baskets to head into the second up, 13-12 over Southern.
In the second quarter, Blackwood hit a made jumper to cut the Setters' lead to two again. Then, Martin made a tough fadeaway jumper in the paint, to tie the game at 16-16.
Taeya Steinauer had another three-pointer against Pace, while
Ally Sentance hit back-to-back three-pointers, which included an impressive four-point play, to give the Owls a 26-16 lead. However, the Setters didn't go away and came back to tie the game at 26-26, with two minutes left in the half. Sentance and
Rheyna Steinauer made layups to give Southern the lead, 30-26, heading into halftime.
In the third quarter, both defenses battled hard against each other in the opening minutes. Pace tied up the game at 31-31, with six minutes left to play in the quarter. Gerkin answered with a made layup and then shortly after, Sentance had a good driving layup and then hit a three-pointer to give the Owls, a seven-point lead. The Setters hit another three-pointer to cut into the lead, but Southern stayed in control, up four points, heading into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter,
Rheyna Steinauer got the scoring going for the Owls with a driving layup. The Setters continued to make shots to get closer to the advantage of Southern, as they quickly tied the game up at 46-46, with four minutes left to play.
Taeya Steinauer answered with and-one made layup and free-throw, to put the Owls up by three again.
Hope Fox hit a made jumper and
Taeya Steinauer had a made layup, to extend their lead. With a minute left,
Hope Fox had a huge steal and a pull-up jumper to seal the 56-49 victory for the Owls.
The Owls will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 10 in an NE10 matchup against Southern New Hampshire at 1:30 pm in the James Moore Field House.
