Winning twice is nice and, as the women’s basketball team has come to find out, three wins are even better.
Pace defeated the Yellow Jackets of American International College 44-43 on Tuesday. The Setters stormed back to take the victory in the game’s final minutes to claim their third win before Thanksgiving.
The biggest contributor for Pace did not even start the game; sophomore special education major Margo Hackett scored 14 points and notched a game-winning basket with eight seconds left to give the home team the win. Hackett was responsible for all of Pace’s bench points during the game and also managed to single-handedly outscore AIC’s bench 14-6.
The Setters also got a big lift from their starting forwards. Graduate political science major Brittany Shields led the way with 17 points and five rebounds. Also, sophomore biology major Brianna Harris notched five points and led the Setters in rebounding with six boards on the day.
Even though the final score favored the home team, it was the Yellow Jackets who got off to a strong start.
AIC opened the game on a 6-0 run and moved the ball well throughout the first half. A lay-up by Shields with 4:55 left in the first half closed the gap to a single point. Yet the Yellow Jackets’ defense held Pace scoreless for the rest of the first half and AIC was up 26-19 at recess.
The second half did not start out the way that the home team wanted. The Yellow Jackets managed to get back-to-back three pointers and led by as many as 14 points with 14 minutes left to play.
However, the Setters defense refortified for the remainder of the game. Pace forced seven turnovers and only gave up the ball four times in the second half. The home team was also able to notch seven assists in the second half of play compared to just three by the Yellow Jackets.
As time diminished, the game’s drama did not. With 1:03 left to go the Setters tied the game at 42-42 on a lay-up by freshman biology major Yuni Sher. Alyssa Roach of the Yellow Jackets responded with a made free throw to give the visitors the lead. Yet in the game’s closing seconds it was Hackett who made a jump shot to keep the Setters undefeated season alive.
The Setters improved to 3-0 overall with a record of 2-0 in the NE 10.