Pleasantville, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College Dolphins and the Pace University Setters women's basketball programs will share the Northeast-10 Conference Southwest Division Regular Season title after the Setters defeated the Dolphins 73-62 inside the Ann and Alfred Goldstein Health, Fitness & Recreation Center on Tuesday.

The Setters earned a share of their first regular season conference title in program history with the win, while the 'Phins last claimed the Southwest Division regular season during the 2018-19 campaign.

As the top seed by virtue of the conference's tiebreaking procedures, the Dolphins will get a first-round bye in the conference championships. Le Moyne will play their conference tournament quarterfinal game at home on Ted Grant Court on Sunday, February 27, at 3:00 p.m. against the winner of Saint Anselm vs American International.

"We definitely played hard today. That's what I told them in those timeouts that we were taking, is we're playing hard, we've just got to finish some shots down the stretch… credit to our team, they fought, and I'm really, really proud of them," said Le Moyne Head Coach Mary Grimes after the game.

"Whether we play Saint A's or AIC (in the NE10 Championships Quarterfinal), it doesn't matter. We're going to prep like we've being prepping. I saw a lot of fight and resolve from our team today… We can't come out slow. I think that's what we're taking into the postseason. We've got to come out strong… I think the team is going to be happy (with the regular season title) but I don't think they're going to be satisfied because I'm not satisfied and we've got a lot more work to do. 'Phins up," Coach Grimes added.

Pace graduate forward Lauren Schetter led the Setters with 19 points, on 7-11 from the field, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in 33 minutes of action.

Overall, the Setters shot 49% from the field, including 42.1% from behind the three point line, while the 'Phins shot just 29% from the field and 29.4% from beyond the arc. The Setters tallied 17 assists on the night compared to just six assists for Le Moyne.

Le Moyne redshirt-junior guard Saeeda Abdul-Aziz (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen/Davidson) posted game-highs in scoring and rebounding with a double-double of 20 points, including 9-11 from the free-throw line, and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes played.

Senior point guard Erin Fouracre (Loudonville, N.Y./Colonie Central) played all 40 minutes for the 'Phins and finished her last NE10 regular season battle with 15 points, including 8-8 from the free-throw line, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

6'1" graduate forward Jasmine White was extremely effective for the Setters, going 6-8 from the field, including 2-3 from three-point land, and finished the contest with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and five blocks.

Le Moyne senior forward Emma Brinker (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) scored the first basket of the game with 9:14 remaining in the first period, then Pace went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead at the 6:37 mark.

Fouracre ended the Pace run with a three-pointer at the 6:04 mark.

A three-point field goal from Pace senior guard Lauren Hackett with 1:20 remaining in the first quarter gave the Setters a 21-11 lead, and a White three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the opening frame gave Pace a 24-11 advantage going into the second quarter.

A Tower Lorde layup with 4:03 remaining in the first half gave Pace their largest lead of the game at 32-15.

During the next Le Moyne possession, Fouracre attacked the basket and converted a layup, then 40 seconds later she drew a foul and sank both free throws to trim Pace's lead to 32-20. Brinker scored in the paint at the 2:20 mark, then Abdul-Aziz drained a pull up jumper during the next Le Moyne possession to make it 35-26 at the end of the first half.

Abdul-Aziz drilled a tough fallaway long-distance two-point jumper from the left wing with 8:00 left in the third quarter make it 38-30 in favor of the Setters. Abdul-Aziz got the ball again on the left wing at the 6:47 mark, but this time she drove to the basket, drew a foul, and converted both free throws.

With 6:07 left in the third period, Fouracre drove the ball from the top of the key, got all the way to the basket, drew a foul in the paint and made both free throws. During the next Pace possession, Fouracre picked off a bounce pass in the middle of the floor, pushed the ball up the floor, finished a layup through contact, drew a foul, converted the additional free throw to cut Le Moyne's deficit to 43-37.

Schetter responded for the Setters with a long two-point field goal from the right side of the floor at the 3:55 mark. Le Moyne missed a three-point field goal during the next possession, and Pace came down and scored on the other end to extend their lead back to double digits.

A Mackenzie Koch three-pointer with 1:51 remaining in the quarter gave the Setters a 50-37 advantage, and Pace entered the fourth quarter with a 54-38 lead.

Le Moyne senior forward Jenna Zimmerman (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) made back-to-back three-point field goals during the fourth minute of the final period to cut Pace's lead to 57-46, but Kelsey Quain responded with a three-pointer of her own with just under six minutes remaining in the game to make it 60-46.

Le Moyne junior guard Lexi Gruss (Binghamton, N.Y./Binghamton) sank a three-pointer from the top of the key with 3:28 remaining to trim the deficit to 62-52.

Abdul-Aziz came off a flare screen and drilled a three-pointer from the right wing to cut Pace's lead to single digits. Abdul-Aziz then converted a layup in the paint, drew a foul and completed the old fashioned three-point play to make it 66-60 in favor of the Setters with one minute remaining.

The 'Phins opted to foul, and Hackett made five of her next six free throw attempts to extend her team's lead to 72-62.

The Setters earned the conference victory, and both teams finished the regular season with a 14-5 conference record.