Seton Hall
Pirates Open Big East Tournament with Decisive 66-42 win over Xavier
Date: March 4, 2018
(Photo: SHU Athletics)
By: Dalton Allison
(Chicago, Illinois)- Nicole Jimenez continued her stellar play into the Big East Tournament, as the Seton Hall Pirates defeated the Xavier Musketeers 66-42 in the first game.
In a game largely dominated by the Pirates, Jimenez contributed an all-around effort with 12 points and seven points. Jimenez opened her scoring by drilling a three point shot to develop a 6-3 lead in the early onset of the game.
A Jaquan Jackson jump shot at the 1:02 mark of the first quarter extended the lead to 12-8, and the Pirates would take that into the second quarter. A Shadeen Samuels free throw, followed by a three point shot allowed the lead to extend to 18-8 in favor of the Pirates. Samuels would finish with 10 points and nine rebounds.
As for the Musketeers, Seton Hall was able to mostly stifle any threat that they could muster. The leading scorer for Xavier, Imani Partlow, finished with only 9 points. This lack of offense would allow Seton Hall to enter halftime with a 32-25 lead.
Tony Bozzella's squad continued to pressure constantly on Xavier, and played stronger defense than they did in the first half. While the defense was clamping down on the Musketeers, the offense began to open up the game more.
Distribution was a large component of the victory tonight, as the Pirates dished out 15 assists on the night. Five of those assists came curtesy of Inja Butina, who finished with eight points as well.
At the 6:16 mark of the third quarter, Jimenez hit a three to extend the Seton Hall lead to 47-31, a lead that proved to be insurmountable. The Pirates ended the quarter on a 9-1 run, and with a 52-32 lead.
Another key player for the Pirates was Selena Philoxy, who proved to be dynamic off the bench. In 17 minutes, she recorded 10 points and six rebounds. After holding the Musketeers to just 17 points in the second half, Seton Hall secured the 66-42 victory.
After coming away with the regular season sweep of Xavier, the Pirates made quick work of the Musketeers in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. Their next opponent will be #2 seeded DePaul, which they will face on Sunday night at 7 p.m. During the regular season, the Pirates were 0-2, including a close home loss to end the regular season at home 72-68.
Dalton Allison can be reached at dalton.allison@student.shu.edu.
