PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.- The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team began Northeast-10 Conference play this evening with a 63-56 setback at Pace University. 

Sophomore guard Payton Graber lead all players with 15 points and eight rebounds in the season-opener. Sophomore forward Aniya McDonald-Perry added 13 points and matched Graber with eight boards. Graber and McDonald-Perry each recorded two steals apiece as well.

Saint Rose trailed by as much as 15 in the second half, as the Golden Knights would only register 11 made field goals in the first three quarters. Down 51-36 in the early stages of the fourth, Saint Rose scored 13 of the next 15 points to cut the deficit to four with two minutes left.

After a pair of Setter free throws, another late flurry from the Golden Knights cut the margin to 57-54 with 32 seconds remaining, however more Pace success at the charity stripe secured the victory for the hosts.

Graber scored 11 of her 15 points, including 3-of-5 from three, to help Saint Rose mount the comeback effort in the final period.

Junior guard Syrita Faraj finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Catherine Finnerty tallied eight points and six boards. 

Forward Ciara Collines scored 11 points to top a Pace offense that featured 10 different players in the scoring column. The Setters hit 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line to move to 3-0 this season.

Looking forward, the Golden Knights will head to Burlington, Vermont for a Sunday exhibition against Division I Vermont before returning to NE10 action at home against Assumption on Tuesday at 5:30 pm. Pace returns at New Haven on Tuesday.

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