WSOU

Pirates open the final weekend of the regular season at home against Xavier

Date: February 27, 2020

By: Justin Morris

Conference play is winding down in the Big East, and with just two games left in their regular season, each matchup for the Seton Hall women’s basketball team is of the utmost importance as the 2019-20 campaign comes to a close.

The Pirates are squarely outside of NCAA tournament bidding based on their regular-season play. They need a spectacular showing in March’s upcoming Big East Tournament to secure a spot in the final dance, but that doesn’t diminish the worth of their remaining matchups. Each game serves as a worthy conditioner in preparation for the string of crucial games that awaits them.

The first of their final two tilts will be a matchup with last-place Xavier, who has mustered just a 2-14 record through conference play. Their regular season faring has not been much better, and with just one win outside of the conference and a whopping 24 tallies in the loss column, the Musketeers’ season has been dwindled to a string of a few closing pride games. Despite Xavier’s shortcomings, the Big East remains one of basketball’s premier conferences on both the men’s and women’s sides, and no opponent can be overlooked.

The Hall dropped both of their matchups with the Musketeers last season, including a 63-62 overtime gut-wrencher in Cincinnati. It appeared as if the Pirates remembered both losses very well though, and absolutely dominated the Musketeers a year later on the same court, defeating Xavier 83-61.

Mya Jackson was unconscious from deep in that game, going 7-9 from three-point territory en route to a season-high 25 points to lead her team in scoring, while Shadeen Samuels added 17 and Desiree Elmore put up 10 to round out Pirates who finished in double figures.

Offensive output came by the plenty for the Hall, and they shot over 40% from deep, but it was their defensive efforts that solidified their advantage. They had an astounding 33 points coming from turnovers, and 15 of those came in transition from the fast break.

Xavier guard A’riana Gray will be the focus on defense for the Pirates, and she’s the only Musketeer entering the game in double-figures, at 16.6 points per game. She had 22 points in 28 minutes in their last matchup.

Samuels, who averaged 26 points per game through their bout in 2019 will again be looked to for a heavy bulk of the scoring load. She struggled in a recent loss against Creighton with just eight points, before erupting for 19 points and 12 rebounds in the Pirates’ last matchup with St. John’s, a 77-76 heartbreaker. Alexis Lewis and Desiree Elmore will also be looked towards for leadership, and both put up respective doubles-doubles (22 and 12, 16 and 11) vs. the Johnnies as well.

It’s Blue Beard Army Night in South Orange, N.J., Friday, with tipoff scheduled at Walsh Gymnasium for 7 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on WSOU 89.5 FM.

Justin Morris can be reached at justin.morris@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Men's Basketball

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