Seton Hall
Pirates down Butler in the Big East women's basketball tournament quarterfinals
Date: March 7, 2020By: Esmeralda Morales
In day two of the Big East women’s basketball tournament the No. 4 seeded Seton Hall Pirates soundly defeated the No. 5 Butler Bulldogs, 83-57, in the quarterfinals.
Seton Hall came out strong to begin the game. In the first four minutes of play the Pirates had an early 12-0 lead against the Bulldogs. In that same four-minute span, the Pirates were able to force six turnovers.
Butler’s head coach Kurt Godlevske called a much-needed timeout to try to get his team composed. The sequence following the timeout included two missed shots: a three-point jumper from the left side from Naira Caceres and a layup under the basket by Oumou Toure. Toure would then get the rebound on her own missed shot and make a layup for Butler’s first points of the game halfway through the first quarter.
The Bulldogs managed to cut a 17-point deficit down to nine points by the end of the first quarter, 24-15. This nine-point margin would be the closest Butler would get for the remainder of the game. In the second quarter Seton Hall continued to dominate. The Pirates were playing unselfish basketball and had great ball movement.
Overall, the Pirates played a complete 20 minutes in the first half of the game. They were shooting effectively from deep at 61 percent. They forced Butler to turn the ball over a total of 12 times and Seton Hall converted those turnovers into 19 points.
Two key contributors for Seton Hall were their freshmen guards Lauren Park-Lane and Mya Jackson who had a combined total of 25 points, matching Butler's team total. Park-Lane also led the team in assists with four at the half. The Pirates closed off the first half exactly how they started the game, on a 12-0 run.
They held the Bulldogs scoreless for just over four minutes. Heading into the half the Pirates led the Bulldogs, 48-25. Butler played more aggressive in the third quarter driving to the basket and drawing fouls. All but three points of Butler’s scoring in the third quarter came from a either a layup or free throws. Despite their aggressive play, Butler could not find a way to get back into the game.
Both teams played messy in the fourth quarter combining for a total of 12 turnovers. Seton Hall was able to hold on the sizeable lead they built, ultimately securing the win.
The Pirates would finish the game with four players scoring double figures compared to only one for Butler. Alexis Lewis led Seton Hall in scoring with 20 points. Followed by Park-Lane and Shadeen Samuels who each had 17. Samuels would finish the game with a double-double, grabbing 14 rebounds. Jackson finished with 13 points. For Butler, Toure was their leading scorer with 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Pirates will play the DePaul Blue Demons tomorrow in the semifinals. Seton Hall fell to DePaul in both games that they faced each other during conference play, the most recent being last month when they lost 86-76 at home in Walsh Gymnasium.
Coverage of the game can be heard on 89.5 FM WSOU with Ronny Castaneda and Bob Towey getting the call.
Esmeralda Morales can be reached at esmeralda.morales@student.shu.edu.
Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Women's Basketball
