Pace Women’s Basketball Facing Huge Challenge

Pace’s Women’s basketball will go head to head with the Purple Knights of the University of Bridgeport on Tuesday night in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Setters (6–5) are coming off a conference loss to Adelphi University, while the Purple Knights (7–2) are coming off a close loss against Daemen College. Before the loss, the Purple Knights had won seven consecutive games.

These two teams met last season on a Monday night at the Goldstein Fitness Center, with the Purple Knights winning handily by a score of 60–44. The Setters are a better team than they were last season, but this will still be a difficult game for them on the road. Here are three keys to the game for a Setters upset:

1. Start strong early. This may be stating the obvious, but it is an important key. In all five of the Setters’ losses this season, they were outscored in the first half. In those losses they trailed by overall total of 148–99 in the first half.
2. Shut down guard Aurelie Leblanc-Florent. This is much easier said than done considering Leblanc-Florent is the top player on the Purple Knights. She led the Purple Knights in points last year in the game against Pace and she has not shown any sign of slowing down yet this season as she leads her team with 16 points per game. If the Setters can contain her offensive attack, they have a a great chance of picking up the win.
3. Shoot the three. The Setters converted eight three-point attempts in their last game against Adelphi University, their most of the season. To keep up with an offensive juggernaut like Bridgeport, who’s averaging 75 points per game and even scored 102 points last week against Chestnut Hill, the Setters must take chances. Two pointers will not be enough for the Setters to pull off the upset.