Garden City, N.Y. - Unable to overcome an early deficit, the Adelphi University women's basketball team dropped its fourth game in five contests on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Pace University Setters, 61-54 in Northeast-10 Conference action inside the Center for Recreation and Sports.

The Panthers, who currently sit in fourth place in the NE10's Southwest Division, looked to bolster their chances to reach the NE10 tournament in Saturday's contest against third-place Pace, but trailed by 10 at halftime and were unable to pull to within any fewer than three for the duration of the second half. 

Adelphi led 5-4 at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter on a Natalie Fekula layup, but the Setters scored the next 11 points to stamp their authority on the contest.

Adelphi got no closer than four for the duration of the first half, and the Panthers were unable to put together a sustained run over the second 20 minutes to wrestle the lead back - just once making it a one-possession deficit in the third quarter.

Simone Hobdy posted her third consecutive game of 20 or more points with a game-high 21 in the setback for Adelphi (12-14, 8-10 NE10), along with six rebounds and three assists.

Niajah Morgan added 13 points to the Adelphi effort while Fekula pulled down 12 rebounds - her fifth game in the last six in which she's pulled in at least 10 rebounds - to go along with nine points.

For Pace (14-11, 10-7 NE10), Geena Rosalbo and Kristina Olikhver tied for the team-high with 13 points, while Jackie Dellisanti added 11 in the win.

With two games left on the schedule, Adelphi currently holds a half-game lead for the No.4 spot in the Southwest Division over the Golden Knights of the College of Saint Rose, who lost to the sixth-place Chargers of the University of New Haven on Saturday. The top five teams in each division make the NE10 tournament, as the No.4 seed from each division will host a first round play-in game on Feb. 23.

The Brown and Gold return to action in its final regular-season road contest of the year at division-leading Southern Connecticut State on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m.

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About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.

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