Seton Hall
Pirates lose to Princeton in heartbreaker, 78-76
Date: November 15, 2019By: Dylan Hunt
The Seton Hall Pirates suffered a heartbreaking 78-76 loss at the hands of the Princeton Tigers Friday night, in a total shootout of a game.
The Pirates were 3-0 coming into the game against Princeton, who are the Ivy League favorites. Seton Hall got out to a good start in the first quarter, despite losing their star player Shadeen Samuels to a hamstring injury just 3:20 into the first quarter. The Pirates held their largest lead of the night in the first quarter as they went up 24-14 on a jump shot by guard Barbara Johnson. Johnson picked up the offense in the first by going on a 16-point scoring run between the first and second quarter.
Johnson totaled 18 points in the 18 minutes in the first half. Injuries plagued the Pirates in the second half as well as Johnson went down with an injury just 3:00 into the third quarter. Seton Hall’s Alexis Lewis took over the offense after Johnson went down, scoring 10 points in the third quarter, playing all 10 minutes in the quarter. Johnson would return to the game in the third quarter but was unable to score any points in her six minutes played.
Going into the fourth quarter, Princeton lead Seton Hall 63-60. Princeton got out to a hot start taking an 11-point lead over the Pirates on a layup in the paint by Princeton forward Taylor Baur. It was a fight for the Hall to get back in it, but the offense lead by Lewis and Desiree Elmore got the team within one point of Princeton, on a three pointer by Alexis Lewis. Lewis drew a foul on the three and sunk the free-throw, making the game 77-76 Princeton with 43 seconds left in the game.
With two seconds left, Princeton guard Maggie Connolly made one of two free-throws to give the Tigers a 78-76 lead. On the last inbound of the game, Pirates guard Lauren Park-Lane narrowly missed the game winning three. The leading scorers for the Pirates were Lewis, who totaled 27 points in 38 minutes, she also added seven rebounds, and Johnson, who scored 21 points in 34 minutes, adding four steals as well.
Post-game Seton Hall Pirates’ senior Alexis Lewis reflected on the impact of the injuries to Samuels and Johnson, “I don’t think the injuries played any part, it’s our five against their five, we’re all division one basketball players and we’re all here for a reason. We came up a little short today and I don’t think injuries had anything to do with that.”
Moving forward Lewis had this to say, “We need to focus on our strengths, make sure that we don’t make little mistakes that put us in these situations where we have to rush a shot or get out of rhythm to try to make a bucket.”
With the loss, the Pirates move to 3-1 on the season. Up next, Seton Hall will be taking on the Saint Joseph’s Hawks on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 2:30 p.m. You can catch coverage for that game right here on 89.5 WSOU.
Dylan Hunt can be reached at dylan.hunt@student.shu.edu.
Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Women's Basketball
