Game preview: Seton Hall eyes an upset over No.14 DePaul on Sunday afternoon

Date: February 8, 2020

By: Jose Balderrama

The Seton Hall Pirates will get set to take on the No. 14 ranked team in the country, the DePaul Blue Demons. This is the second meeting between these two teams this season, after DePaul came out on top in the earlier meeting by a score of 85-68. The game will be at 1 P.M. on Sunday and it will take place at the Historic Walsh Gymnasium.

The Pirates will look to keep up the momentum after picking up a huge win on Friday vs. the Marquette Golden Eagles. They came out on top by a score of 72-60 at home, in a game in which they gave out free pink tee-shirts in support for cancer.

The Hall is now 15-8 on the season, and an 8-4 record in conference play. The Pirates currently have a three-game winning streak in conference play. Among these wins, Seton Hall beat Georgetown, Villanova, and Marquette. This past win moved them up to fourth in the conference, increasing their possibilities of participating in postseason play.

The Hall was able to come out on top due to Alexis Lewis’ huge performance. She finished with 28 points, including 6-7 from three-point range and 11-15 from the field. The Pirates held Marquette’s star player Selena Lott to 11 total points, including 10 of those coming from the free-throw line. She finished the game shooting 1-4 from the field. Shadeen Samuels had an all-around solid game with 17 total points, six assists and eight rebounds to give the Pirates a convincing victory.

DePaul comes in with a 21-3 overall record and an 11-1 conference record, with their only loss coming vs. Creighton at home on Jan. 31. They have shown a model of consistency that has gotten them to the number 14 ranked spot in the country. They’ve won 11 of their past 12 games, all within the Big East, and they have learned to play as a team, with four of their players averaging double digit scoring. Senior forward, Chante Stonewall, is leading the way averaging 17.1 points per game.

The Pirates have had similar offensive success but at a lower rate. They have three starters averaging double digit scoring, with Shadeen Samuels averaging 14.1 points per game. The Hall has been playing well as of late despite the controversial situation going on with forward Selena Philoxy. It was recently announced that she would no longer form part of the team and will most likely transfer after the season.

This is probably the toughest test the Pirates have remaining on their schedule. DePaul has not lost a road game in the Big East, but the Pirates will look to pull off the huge upset to extend their win-streak to four games.

Make sure to catch the game on WSOU 89.5 FM, as Jose Feliciano and Madi Travisano will be on the call.

Jose Balderrama can be reached at jose.balderrama@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Women's Basketball