COLCHESTER, Vt. - Senior Brianna Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School/Cal State Fullerton) buried the tie-breaking three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to give the Saint Michael's College women's basketball team a 50-47 victory over regionally-ranked Pace University on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. The Setters were 10th in this week's D2 CSC East Region poll.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-11, 4-8 NE10), Pace (11-9, 7-5 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Bella Franchi (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 17 points, 4 steals, 6-for-11 field goals, 3-for-6 three-pointers
• Senior Brianna Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School/Cal State Fullerton), 12 points, 2-for-3 three-pointers
• First-year Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 8 points
• Sophomore Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 12 rebounds, 6 offensive rebounds
• Senior Makayla Blake (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 6 rebounds

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Tower Lorde, 15 points, 13 rebounds, 7-for-11 field goals
• Senior Arianna Stockinger, 13 points, 9 rebounds

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's held an opponent to 61 points or less for the sixth time in seven games, and to fewer than 50 points for the fourth time this season.
• The Purple Knights committed only eight turnovers while forcing Pace into 16, claiming a 19-5 advantage in points off of giveaways.
• Despite being outrebounded on the offensive glass, 13-10, the hosts held a 14-4 lead in second-chance points.

THE ACTION

• Furch and sophomore Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose) put home baskets to provide the Purple Knights a 4-0 lead before two ties and two lead swings ensued, but Montplaisir's jumper made it 14-9 by 1:11 of the opening stanza.
• Pace twice rallied to tie, but the hosts ended the half on a 12-3 run, led by Franchi knocking down a pair of triples, as Saint Michael's led 30-21 at halftime.
• The lead ballooned to 36-23 on Furch's lay-up at 6:52 of the third period, but Lorde and Stockinger both had four points in a 9-0 response, cutting the deficit to four.
• Graduate student Katumina Mansaray's jumper at 8:00 of the fourth quarter knotted the teams at 42, but Franchi knocked down two free throws 45 seconds later, and Furch's triple made it 47-42 at 3:52.
• After Mansaray made a pair of free throws at 52.1 seconds, junior Morgan Ryan tied the game with a three from the wing at 10.9 seconds.
• Following a timeout, Furch drilled her game-winning three from the top of the key, and Pace was unable to take a tying attempt at the other end.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Tuesday vs. American International College, 5:30 p.m.