Pirates are the runner-up in the BIG EAST Championship after 78-68 loss to DePaul.
Ka-Deidre Simmons earned BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors for the second year in a row.
March 10, 2015
Photo Gallery
ROSEMONT, ILL. - The top-seed Seton Hall University women's basketball team saw its BIG EAST Tournament run come to an end as it was upset by No. 2 DePaul, 78-68, in the BIG EAST Championship game on Tuesday night at Allstate Arena. Graduate point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) led all scorers with 23 points, earning All-Tournament Team honors for the second year in a row.
Seton Hall, which was the BIG EAST regular season champion and the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time in its history, has compiled a school record 28 wins this year and heads into postseason play at 28-5 overall. The Pirates figure to be a lock for their first NCAA Tournament bid in two decades, entering the day at No. 39 in the NCAA RPI rankings.
Seton Hall was 15-3 during the BIG EAST regular season, falling one shy of matching the school record for conference wins. The Pirates rank 21st in the nation with 10 wins against the RPI Top-100 and have not lost back-to-back games all season. In fact, the 10 point setback on Tuesday night was the only one of SHU's five losses to come by double figures.
Slow starts to both halves ultimately doomed Seton Hall. The Pirates trailed 15-3 to start the game and by as many as 13 in the first half. Then after fighting back to cut the DePaul lead down to six by halftime, the Blue Demons scored the first eight points of the second period, which came as part of a 13-2 run that was capped off by a Megan Podkowa 3-pointer that provided the Blue Demons with a 17-point cushion for the first time.
Podkowa finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with three 3-pointers on the way to BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
During that difficult stretch to start the second half, Seton Hall simply failed to take care of the basketball. After committing just six turnovers in the opening period, the Pirates gave the ball away four times over the first four minutes of the second, which lead to eight points the other way.
DePaul would eventually cool off, going over five minutes without a point, but during that long scoreless drought SHU scored only eight points and was never able to pull any closer than 10. A Brittany Hrynko 3-pointer from the wing put the Blue Demons back up by 13, and 3-point shooting was key to DePaul's ability to come away with a win.
Seton Hall knocked down just three shots from the outside, its second fewest all season, and shot 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from long-distance, while DePaul buried nine threes.
Just as they had done in each of the first two meetings, DePaul opened the game red hot from the floor. Seton Hall trailed 15-3 at the first media timeout after Centrese McGee hit her second three of the game prompting SHU head coach Anthony Bozzella to call timeout. At that point DePaul was shooting 6-of-9 and converted on both of its second chance opportunities, while the Pirates had just four shot attempts and two turnovers during the same span.
The Pirates hit four-straight field goals to cut it to seven as Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) banked a shot off the glass to make it 26-19, but DePaul went back up by double figures when McGee hit her third three of the half to make it 31-19. McGee came into the game with just 11 triples on the season and had not hit three threes in a game this year.
After McGee's third three went through the net, DePaul shot just 2-for-9 with four turnovers over the final six minutes of the half, as the Pirates would pull within single digits before the break.
Both squad experienced prolonged scoring droughts. Seton Hall went nearly 5:30 without a point, but DePaul was never able to add on to its lead, committing several turnovers while lasting a stretch of nearly five minutes without a point of their own.
Finally Janee Johnson (Matthews, N.C.) ended the scoreless drought by banking in a jump hook, then hitting a three on the next SHU possession to made it a seven-point game once again. The Pirates would pull as close as 33-29 as Simmons converted a pair at the line with 1:16 remaining in the half, but The Hall trailed by six at the break.
What hurt Seton Hall the most over the first 20 minutes was its inability to convert DePaul's 12 turnovers into points, as the Pirates actually trailed 9-7 in points off turnovers at the half, despite a plus-six turnover margin. The Blue Demons went on to hold a 23-11 edge in points off turnovers and they had 30 points in the paint after scoring just 34 combined points in the inside during the two regular season matchups.
Seton Hall will hold an NCAA Selection Show Watch Party on Monday, March 16, inside of historic Walsh Gymnasium, as the Pirates hope to see their name get called for the first time since 1995. The event is open to the public and admission is free. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the selection show to begin at 7 p.m.
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/031015aac.html
Ka-Deidre Simmons earned BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honors for the second year in a row.
March 10, 2015
Photo Gallery
ROSEMONT, ILL. - The top-seed Seton Hall University women's basketball team saw its BIG EAST Tournament run come to an end as it was upset by No. 2 DePaul, 78-68, in the BIG EAST Championship game on Tuesday night at Allstate Arena. Graduate point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) led all scorers with 23 points, earning All-Tournament Team honors for the second year in a row.
Seton Hall, which was the BIG EAST regular season champion and the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time in its history, has compiled a school record 28 wins this year and heads into postseason play at 28-5 overall. The Pirates figure to be a lock for their first NCAA Tournament bid in two decades, entering the day at No. 39 in the NCAA RPI rankings.
Seton Hall was 15-3 during the BIG EAST regular season, falling one shy of matching the school record for conference wins. The Pirates rank 21st in the nation with 10 wins against the RPI Top-100 and have not lost back-to-back games all season. In fact, the 10 point setback on Tuesday night was the only one of SHU's five losses to come by double figures.
Slow starts to both halves ultimately doomed Seton Hall. The Pirates trailed 15-3 to start the game and by as many as 13 in the first half. Then after fighting back to cut the DePaul lead down to six by halftime, the Blue Demons scored the first eight points of the second period, which came as part of a 13-2 run that was capped off by a Megan Podkowa 3-pointer that provided the Blue Demons with a 17-point cushion for the first time.
Podkowa finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting with three 3-pointers on the way to BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
During that difficult stretch to start the second half, Seton Hall simply failed to take care of the basketball. After committing just six turnovers in the opening period, the Pirates gave the ball away four times over the first four minutes of the second, which lead to eight points the other way.
DePaul would eventually cool off, going over five minutes without a point, but during that long scoreless drought SHU scored only eight points and was never able to pull any closer than 10. A Brittany Hrynko 3-pointer from the wing put the Blue Demons back up by 13, and 3-point shooting was key to DePaul's ability to come away with a win.
Seton Hall knocked down just three shots from the outside, its second fewest all season, and shot 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from long-distance, while DePaul buried nine threes.
Just as they had done in each of the first two meetings, DePaul opened the game red hot from the floor. Seton Hall trailed 15-3 at the first media timeout after Centrese McGee hit her second three of the game prompting SHU head coach Anthony Bozzella to call timeout. At that point DePaul was shooting 6-of-9 and converted on both of its second chance opportunities, while the Pirates had just four shot attempts and two turnovers during the same span.
The Pirates hit four-straight field goals to cut it to seven as Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) banked a shot off the glass to make it 26-19, but DePaul went back up by double figures when McGee hit her third three of the half to make it 31-19. McGee came into the game with just 11 triples on the season and had not hit three threes in a game this year.
After McGee's third three went through the net, DePaul shot just 2-for-9 with four turnovers over the final six minutes of the half, as the Pirates would pull within single digits before the break.
Both squad experienced prolonged scoring droughts. Seton Hall went nearly 5:30 without a point, but DePaul was never able to add on to its lead, committing several turnovers while lasting a stretch of nearly five minutes without a point of their own.
Finally Janee Johnson (Matthews, N.C.) ended the scoreless drought by banking in a jump hook, then hitting a three on the next SHU possession to made it a seven-point game once again. The Pirates would pull as close as 33-29 as Simmons converted a pair at the line with 1:16 remaining in the half, but The Hall trailed by six at the break.
What hurt Seton Hall the most over the first 20 minutes was its inability to convert DePaul's 12 turnovers into points, as the Pirates actually trailed 9-7 in points off turnovers at the half, despite a plus-six turnover margin. The Blue Demons went on to hold a 23-11 edge in points off turnovers and they had 30 points in the paint after scoring just 34 combined points in the inside during the two regular season matchups.
Seton Hall will hold an NCAA Selection Show Watch Party on Monday, March 16, inside of historic Walsh Gymnasium, as the Pirates hope to see their name get called for the first time since 1995. The event is open to the public and admission is free. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the selection show to begin at 7 p.m.
http://www.shupirates.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/031015aac.html
