The St. Thomas Aquinas College women's basketball team erased a second half deficit to grab the lead in the final minutes before falling to Pace University, 57-54. Sara Oliviera led three Lady Spartans in double-figures with 12 points. STAC's winning streak was stopped at two games, dropping their record to 4-6 while Pace improved to 6-3 with the non-conference victory.
STAC bolted from the gate, led by a trio of three-pointers from Oliviera and another from Lexi Breheny to open a 14-5 lead. Pace turned up the defensive pressure, leading to a 9-0 run to deadlock the score.
While the Lady Spartans reclaimed the edge, Setter standout Brittany Shields spurred a 9-2 spurt to close out the half and stake the visitors to a 26-22 lead.
That momentum would continue after the break when an Emily Armstrong three gave pace its biggest lead of the afternoon at 39-31 with 12 minutes remaining. Led by seniors Shpresa Liharevic and Bianca Kowgios, STAC battled back as another Breheny trey brought them to within 49-48 at the four minute mark.
St. Thomas Aquinas captured its only lead of the second half when Liharevic nailed a three-pointer with 1:16 left to make the score 54-53, but Shields would cap off her game-high 22 point effort with a running lay-up with 40 seconds to go to reclaim the lead for the Setters.
A pair of Margo Hackett free throws put the visitors up by three, setting the stage for some late drama as Liharevic was fouled on a three-point attempt with two seconds remaining. With a chance to tie the score, Liharevic missed the first two shots before intentionially missing the third to allow Pace to hold and and secure the win.
Liharevic recorded 11 points and Kowgios added 10 for STAC, while Hackett added 12 points for Pace. Shields was a force on the glass as well, clearing a game-high nine rebounds.
The Lady Spartans will close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on Wednesday, December 19, with a trip to Merrimack College for a 5:00 pm start. They will return to action with a trip to LeMoyne College on December 30 to close out the calendar year before hosting Roberts Wesleyan in an East Coast Conference tilt on January 5, 2013.