Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Nov. 29, 2015) - The Molloy College women's basketball team were behind from the get-go and lost a 76-48 final to Pace University on Sunday (Nov. 29) at Quealy Gymnasium. The Lions have now lost four straight contests and are 1-4 on the season, while regionally-ranked Pace (No. 7 in last week's D2SIDA Women's Basketball Media Poll) is now 4-2 in the 2015-16 campaign.
The Setters opened the first quarter of play with a 4-0 lead thanks to two early lay-ups from six-foot-five junior center Kirsten Dodge (Fabius, N.Y.). Senior forward
Ally Leftridge (Melville, N.Y.) had five of Molloy's six points as the Lions drew even with the visitors midway through the frame. The visiting Setters would extend their lead to six after a three pointer from graduate forward Shanice Maynard (Camden, N.J,) made it 12-6. The Lions would cut into that deficit after senior guard
Alexia O'Connor (Centerport, N.Y.) made a three to make it 12-9, but Pace increased their lead to seven after another three from Maynard made it 17-10 with ninety seconds left in the quarter. A Leftridge jumper proved to be the final points in the opening ten minutes, as Molloy trailed the opposition by a 17-12 score.
In the second quarter, the Setters took a 19-12 lead on a Dodge lay-up before the Lions' bench stepped into action. Consecutive buckets from sophomore
Aliyah McDonald (Hempstead, N.Y.) and junior
Shantana Kanhoye (South Richmond Hill, N.Y.) brought Molloy within three at 19-16 with 8:19 to go in the half, but Pace graduate student Jaclyn Oskam (Glenmont, N.Y.) scored five straight points to keep the Setters ahead. A fast-break lay-up from sophomore guard Gabriella Rubin (Staten Island, N.Y.) put the visitors up 26-16 with 6:21 to play but the maroon and white ended the half on an 8-3 run with the points spread out amongst Leftridge, O'Connor, Kanhoye and junior
Brianna Perlmutter (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
In the first half, the Lions were led by Leftridge who had nine points (4-11 shooting) and O'Connor who added five points (2-4 shooting) including 1-2 from behind the arc. Perlmutter added five boards and three points off the bench. The Lions shot 25.9 % from the field in the first half and 31.6% from beyond the arc. The Setters shot 50.8% from the field including 12-27 from beyond the arc.
The Lions' shooting streak was cold in the first half and the second half was not much better for Molloy, as the home side made three field goals in eight attempts. The Setters, meanwhile, kept toying with the Lions by allowing the hosts to get closer and closer before eventually pulling away. A three-pointer by freshman guard
Ihnacinse Grady (Amityville, N.Y.) and free throws from senior
Kimani Jackson (Dix Hills, N.Y.) brought the Lions within two points at 32-30 less than three minutes into the third period of play. Pace then went on a spirit-killing 17-1 run over the next six minutes until a Grady three-ball brought Molloy within 15 at 49-34 with 1:12 to go in the frame. The deficit would swell to 17 at the end of thirty minutes, with Pace ahead 54-37.
Pace took their largest lead of the game at the final buzzer on a lay-up from Rachel Dortch (Columbus, N.J.), but there were some positive aspects of basketball in the fourth quarter for the maroon and white. Freshman combo forward
Bridget Sharnick (Shelton, Conn.) made her Quealy Gymnasium debut and hit a three-pointer with three minutes to play in the frame. Junior guard
Maggie Salomone (Narragansett, R.I.) had the assist on Sharnick's trifecta as well as a three-ball from O'Connor in the final stanza of action.
Leftridge had a team-high 11 points but only shot 4-for-15 from the field in the Lions' loss. Perlmutter finished with a team-best six rebounds off the bench while Kanhoye had four points and five boards. Jackson collected five points, four rebounds and three assists for the maroon and white, as well. Maynard and Oskam led Pace with 13 points apiece, complementing Rubin and Dodge who each scored 12 points for the Setters. The visitors were plus-seven (37-30) in the rebounding category and shot 51% from the field (32-63). Pace also won with the greatest anomaly possible, as the Setters did not make or even take a free throw in the contest.
Head Coach
Joe Pellicane and the Molloy College women's basketball team will open East Coast Conference play next Wednesday (Dec. 9) with a road contest in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. against the Mercy College Mavericks at 5 p.m.
