COLCHESTER, Vt. - A key 12-0 run in the third quarter helped the Saint Michael's College women's basketball team pull away from Pace University for a 77-68 win on Saturday during Northeast 10 Conference play in the Ross Sports Center. With three regular-season games left, the Purple Knights are in a three-way tie for fifth place in a league that takes its top seven into the postseason. Eighth-place Adelphi University trails the logjam by one win.
 
The Purple Knights honored their four seniors during a pregame ceremony as part of Senior Day: Molly Brophy (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich Central School), Julie Lyden (Hawthorne, N.Y./Westlake), Ava MacDonough (South Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial) and manager Emma Ziemba (Suffield, Conn./Suffield).
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (12-11, 7-8 NE10), Pace (6-18, 2-13 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Margaret Montplaisir (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth), 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6-for-9 field goals, 4-for-7 three-pointers, 4-for-4 free throws
• Junior Jayla Tyler (Albany, N.Y./Colonie Central/Saint Rose), 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals
• Junior Ashlee Talbot (Dracut, Mass./Dracut), 10 points, 4 assists, 3-for-6 field goals, 2-for-4 three-pointers
• Junior Ruby Santos (New Paltz, N.Y./Kent School), 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2-for-4 field goals, 4-for-4 free throws
• First-year Jasmine Becotte (Pelham, N.H./Lawrence Academy), 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4-for-4 free throws
• Junior Bella Franchi (Colonie, N.Y./Colonie Central), 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
• Junior Amber Furch (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood School), 7 points, 3 assists

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Ciara Collins, 23 points, 9-for-19 field goals, 3-for-5 three-pointers
• First-year Claire Fitzpatrick, 20 points, 5-for-8 three-pointers
• First-year Anisa Akinola, 14 points, 6 rebounds (4 offensive)

GAME FACTS

• Montplaisir scored 18 points in the first half before Tyler netted all 14 of her points after halftime.
• The Purple Knights shot 19-for-20 on free throws and 10-for-22 from three-point range.

THE ACTION

• Collins' pair of free throws gave Pace an 11-6 lead by 6:11 of the first quarter before her three-pointer made it 17-11 at 4:56 to provide the visitors their largest lead of the opening half.
• Montplaisir's buzzer-beating triple knotted the game at 24 heading into the second stanza, where the Purple Knights put together a 9-0 run behind a pair of Franchi buckets to go up 37-28 at 4:32.
• Collins netted four points in a 6-0 response, but the hosts led 40-36 at halftime.
• Tyler's triple pushed the lead to 51-42 by 6:29 of the third quarter before Akinola brought Pace within 52-48 thanks to her steal and lay-up with 4:25 to go.
• Saint Michael's quickly countered with a 12-0 run, as Becotte scored half the points, and Santos' pair of freebies made it 64-48 with 51 seconds remaining. Pace trimmed its deficit to seven points on Fitzpatrick's free throw with 3:20 left in the fourth quarter but came no closer.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

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