Pace stops Greyhound women's basketball, 54-51, in Northeast-10 Conference defensive struggle

January 6, 2009

Pace 54, Assumption 51

PLEASANTVILLE, NY --- Pace led by junior forward TAYLOR LOSEY (Bristol, CT/Bristol Eastern) and tenacious defense held on to defeat Assumption College, 54-51, in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball game here TUESDAY night at the Goldstein Center. Losey ended with a double-double, 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Sophomore forward KRISTIN CONNOLLY (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) (12 points) and sophomore forward BRITTANY HUGGINS (Windsor, CT/Windsor) (11 points) played well in support roles for the Setters. Pace defense limited the Greyhounds to a subpar 18 for-60 floor accuracy (.300) and just one-of-13 from three-point territory. They outrebounded the Greyhounds, 47-37.

The Greyhounds had three double-figure scorers in sophomore forward MOLLY GRIFFITHS (Walpole, MA/Ursuline Academy) (13 points), 11 rebounds), junior forward KAYLA PARKER (Sanford, ME/Sanford) (11 points, 9 rebounds) and senior guard/captain BETHANY PLASSKI (Fall River, MA/Durfee) (10 points).

After trading baskets early in the game, Assumption jumped ahead of the Setters on a three-pointer by Griffiths, giving the Greyhounds a 9-7 advantage. Huggins then made a three-pointer on the next Pace possession putting the Setters back in the lead and starting a 13-2 Pace run. Connolly's three-pointer with 7:15 left capped the run as Pace led 20-11.

A late run by the Greyhounds would slice the Setter lead to 26-23 heading into halftime. Junior guard LESLIE LUPIEN (Pomfret Center, NY/Woodstock Academy), Parker and Griffiths (at the buzzer) all made layups in the Hounds' rally.

A layup by Parker with 3:05 left in the game put the Greyhounds in front 49-48 however the Setters then ran a 5-0 mini-spurt to take a five-point advantage (54-49). Postgraduate center SHEISHA MC COLLUM (Newburgh, NY/Washingtonville) made a layup and Huggins and Losey made two free throws. A Plasski layin with two seconds cut the gap to 54 51. A three-pointer by Plasski missed the mark at the buzzer.

Pace is now in second place in the conference at 5-2 and moved to 8-3 overall. The Greyhounds are 5-4 in the conference and 7-6 overall

The Greyhounds host American International College THURSDAY at the Laska Gym in another Northeast-10 Conference game at 5:30 p.m.

Click here for ASSUMPTION-PACE box score