Seniors Shine, but Pirates Drop Battle to Creighton, 72-65 - Seton Hall University Athletics
Graduate student Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) had a game-high 23 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team lost to No. 23 Creighton, 72-65, ...
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Graduate student Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) had a game-high 23 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team lost to No. 23 Creighton, 72-65, on Senior Day in Walsh Gymnasium on Sunday.
The Pirates led at the half, but an 11-0 third-quarter run by Creighton proved to be the difference-maker as The Hall couldn't draw even afterward. Seton Hall was just 12-for-21 from the free-throw line which made its comeback attempts more difficult.
With the loss, the Pirates will be the No. 7 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament and will face No. 10 seed DePaul in the first round on Friday at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena.
In addition to Baines, Sha'Lynn Hagans (Manassas, Va.) and Kae Satterfield (New York, N.Y.) also scored in double-figures. Hagans had a season-high 16 points to go with five rebounds and two assists. Satterfield had 12 points and nine rebounds.
THE STORY:
A jumper by Baines cut The Hall's deficit to 12-9, but Creighton responded with an 8-2 run to take a 20-11 advantage with 1:47 left in the first quarter. Seton Hall shot just 38 percent from the floor in the first 10 minutes, while the Bluejays fired at a 53 percent clip. Creighton took a 22-15 lead into the second.
Down 29-17 in the second, The Hall held Creighton scoreless for the next 5:33 and went on a 13-0 run. An offensive rebound and putback by Satterfield gave The Hall its first lead of the game 30-29 with 3:16 to go before halftime. The Pirates held the Bluejays to just 4-for-16 shooting in the second stanza and took a 34-32 lead into the break.
Satterfield scored to give The Hall a 42-34 lead with 5:47 left in the third quarter, but Creighton answered with an 11-0 run to take a 45-42 advantage.
In the fourth, a free-throw by Baines made it a one-possession game, 57-54, with 5:06 left in the game, but the Bluejays responded with made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to pull away. Down 64-55, the Pirates went on a furious rally late thanks in large part to their full-court press. A lay-in by I'yanna Lops (Stamford, Conn.) cut The Hall's deficit to 66-62 with only 1:35 to go, but Creighton was able to ice the game on the free-throw line.
THE NUMBERS:
- Seton Hall was 25-for-68 (36.8%) from the floor for the game, while Creighton was 23-for-54 (42.6%). The Hall was 3-for-17 (17.6%) from three-point range, while the Bluejays were 9-for-28 (32.1%).
- Baines had 23 points on 8-for-18 shooting to go with nine rebounds and two assists.
- The rebounding battle was tied, 39-to-39, but the Pirates had a huge 14-to-7 edge on the offensive glass and a 15-to-10 advantage in second-chance points.
- Hagans had a season-high 16 points and was 2-for-4 from three-point range. She also pulled down five rebounds and had two assists.
- Seton Hall was just 12-for-21 (57.1%) from the free-throw line, while Creighton was 17-for-21 (81.0%).
- Satterfield tallied 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting to go with nine rebounds.
- Seton Hall forced 12 turnovers, while the Bluejays forced nine. Points-off-turnovers were tied 12-to-12.
- Senior Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) had a game-high six assists, only two steals and a game-best five steals.
- The Pirates pounded Creighton in the paint, 40-to-20.
- Seton Hall finishes the regular season with a 16-13 overall record and a final BIG EAST mark of 8-10, while Creighton improves to 24-4 overall and 15-3 in conference play.
- The Pirates have earned the No. 7 seed in next week's BIG EAST Tournament and will play No. 10 seed DePaul in Friday's first round at 1:30 p.m. The winner will face No. 2 seed Creighton on Saturday.
- The Hall is now 6-19 all-time against Creighton and has dropped the last five contests.
- For the 21st time in 29 games, Seton Hall forced more turnovers than its opponent.
- Baines reached at least 20 points for the sixth time this season and the 10th time in her career.
- With five steals tonight, Wright moved into a tie for 18th place on Seton Hall's career list with 154.
- With nine rebounds today, Baines surpassed the 700-rebounds mark for her career.
- With 16 points today, Hagans surpassed 900 points for her career.
- Prior to the game, Seton Hall honored nine seniors/graduate students in a Senior Day ceremony. Baines, Hagans, Lops, Satterfield, Wright, A'Jah Davis (Dekalb, Ill.), Brazil Harvey-Carr (Camden, N.J.), Shannon Mulroy (Flemington, N.J.) and Makennah White (Farrell, Pa.) were honored.
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, March 8 when it begins play at the 2024 BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The No. 7 seeded Pirates will face No. 10 seeded DePaul at 1:30 p.m. The game will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available to FloHoops subscribers.
