COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team trimmed a double-digit deficit to five points in the final minute on Tuesday before falling to Pace University, 57-51, during a Northeast-10 Conference contest in the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights, who competed for the first time since Dec. 6, slipped to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the league. Four of their losses have come by nine points or fewer. The Setters are 9-3 and 6-2.

Saint Michael's senior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) scored a game-best 13 points while adding three assists, and classmate Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) canned four three-pointers en route to 12 points and five rebounds. Junior Nicole Adach (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) had 11 points and six boards, while classmate Megan Olsen (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) added eight points off the bench.

Freshman Margo Hackett's (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) 12 points for Pace came as a reserve, while senior Carol Johnson (New City, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) notched a double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Allison Cleary (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall Central) was 4-for-4 for 10 points.

The Purple Knights forced a pair of ties early in the second half, including on Hennessy's bucket following an offensive board, which made the score 34-34 with 16:03 remaining. However, the Setters scored 11 of the ensuing 13 points, with five coming off the hands of Hackett, including a pair of freebies that provided a 45-36 advantage for Pace at 12:43. Quinn's three-pointer sparked a 6-0 run, and a fastbreak hoop by Hennessy created a 45-42 game at 8:53.

Pace used an 11-4 run to push ahead by a 56-46 count with less than a minute remaining before the Purple Knights cut their deficit in half. Quinn canned her fourth three with 53 seconds left, and two Olsen free throws with 27 ticks to go made it 56-51. The Setters missed the front end of an ensuing one-and-one, but Saint Michael's was unable to score, leading to Cleary's final free throw at 1.9 seconds.

The visitors forged ahead by an early 7-4 count before the Purple Knights responded with nine straight points during a 3:31 stretch to go ahead 13-7, with Adach pacing her squad with four points. Saint Michael's twice extended its lead to seven, including on sophomore Cara Deroy's (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) bucket at 6:46 that pushed the hosts into a 22-15 advantage. However, Pace scored the next nine points, with senior Brittany Shields (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) depositing five, including a go-ahead three-point play with 4:11 left. The Purple Knights forced three ties down the stretch, including on Quinn's three at 2:31, but senior Kerri White (Flushing, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) hit a triple of her own at 1:26 for the final points of the half, and the Setters took a 32-29 edge into the locker room.

The Purple Knights hit the road for their next three contests, beginning with a Thursday evening match-up at Saint Anselm College at 5:30 p.m.