Lady Pioneers Set Pace in Win 53-43

Photo by LIU Athletics

David Otero
Sports Editor

The LIU Post women’s basketball team grinded out a victory against Pace University on Saturday, December 8, by a score of 53-43. The Pace Setters—yes, that is really the team’s name—did not do as the nickname implies. In fact, the offense of the Setters (5-3) was quite offensive. The Setters were hesitant to be around the vicinity of the hoop throughout the duration of the game.

Both teams played well on defense and that was the reason for only a ten point victory for the Lady Pioneers (5-1). Despite the end-result of a win, the first couple minutes of this contest were tough to watch. After four turnovers and sloppy play during the opening 2:07 of the game, Lady Pioneers head coach Deirdre Moore took out her starting lineup and allowed several bench players to spark some life into the team.

Junior forward Shayna Gatling scored the first five points for LIU, and contributed for her entire 16 minutes of action as she scored nine points on 4-5 shooting from the field and secured four rebounds. Senior center Samantha Kopp had another big game on both sides of the floor. And though it might not show in the box score, Kopp’s presence on defense was invaluable. She finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

When the starters came back into the game after their brief benching during the first half, they looked like a completely different unit. Hustle-defense was played and guards followed through and rebounded their own shots. The Lady Pioneers were re-energized and focused as a team. Despite a rocky beginning, LIU led 26-18 at the half.

The second half was an even battle between both sides as the Lady Pioneers only outscored the Setters by two points (27-25). The Lady Pioneers played tough perimeter defense all afternoon long as the Setters rarely set the offense before ten seconds were even on the shot clock. The Lady Pioneers also showed aggressive defense by forcing 21 turnovers.

Although she went 1-9 from beyond the arc, sophomore guard Chelsea Williams led the Lady Pioneers in scoring with 11 points. Junior guard Alexis Peters nearly had a double-double as she added eight points to go along with nine rebounds.

The next game for the Lady Pioneers is on Sunday, December 16, on the road against the undefeated 7-0 Bentley University Falcons at 1:30 p.m.