Despite Briana Sloper's team-high 24 points, the St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team fell to a 60-56 defeat at Pace University. Briana Cook added 13 points as the Lady Spartans dropped their second straight. With the victory, Pace improves to 8-3 overall, while STAC falls to 7-5 after the non-conference showdown.

With both teams coming off lengthy holiday layoffs, there was no rust evident on the visitors' part in the early going, as the Lady Spartans bolted to a 9-2 lead on the strength of a pair of Cook lay-ups. STAC's defense set the tempo early, holding the Setters to just eight points in the contest's first 13 minutes, and opening a 20-8 margin. The Lady Spartans extended their edge to 33-17 in the final minutes of the first half before Pace began to turn the tide, posting the final six points before the break.

Pace carried that momentum through the break, as the St. Thomas Aquinas offense - torrid through much of the first half - suddenly ran cold, accounting for just seven points over a 13-minute span. The hosts continued to chip away, taking their first lead of the afternoon at 42-40 with 9:30 remaining. The Setters rode a 10-0 run to a five point lead, their biggest of the day, and while the Lady Spartans would rally to tie on two occasions, they were never able to reclaim the advantage.

Brittany Shields of Pace sank a key free-throw, the last of her game-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds, with just 13 seconds left to snap a 56-56 deadlock and put her team ahead to stay. Kerri White added 10 points for the Setters, who snapped a two-game skid.

STAC held Pace to just 29% from the field (19-65) while the vistors posted a solid 46% on 24-52 shooting. It was at the foul line where the hosts had a decided advantage, however, recording an impressive 19-23 (83%), while St. Thomas Aquinas recorded just seven points in 12 attempts for 56%. Pace outrebounded STAC by a 43-36 margin, including 21 offensive boards.