Seton Hall fell behind late to UConn in the second half of 92-78 defeat

Date: December 6, 2019

By: Mat Mlodzinski

The Seton Hall women’s basketball team fell to No. 4 UConn Huskies on Thursday night in Walsh Gymnasium, 92-78.

The Pirates were led in scoring by Mya Jackson, who scored 21 points off the bench, including five-of-eight from behind the three-point line. Hartford, Connecticut native, Desiree Elmore contributed 16 points of her own, while Shadeen Samuels had 14 points off the bench in her first game back from an injury. 

The Huskies were led by Megan Walker, who poured in 29 points on 21 field goal attempts. Aubrey Griffin had 25 off a thin bench that only consisted of one other player. UConn came out of the gates on a 9-2 run, but Walsh Gymnasium would be in for a treat. Desiree Elmore scored eight points in roughly three minutes, the final two of those eight giving the Pirates a 14-13 advantage. Seton Hall didn’t look back either, finishing the quarter on a 14 to 6 run after that Elmore jumper, bringing Walsh Gymnasium into a frenzy.

UConn made quick adjustments however, quickly cutting it to a three-point deficit early in the second quarter. The Pirates stuck with it however, going back and forth with the lead with the Huskies. A layup in the final seconds put UConn ahead at the break, 47-43.

The third quarter resembled the same type of pattern, as UConn quickly extended their lead to 63-45. However, Seton Hall didn’t back down, at one point bringing it all the way back to a four-point game, before Connecticut brought it back up to a six-point lead to end the quarter.

Seton Hall tried to bring it back to a two-possession game in the fourth quarter, with multiple chances to cut the lead to four. However, the Huskies went on one final run, led by Walker and Griffin, that the Pirates couldn’t withstand. In the end, the Pirates still fought hard, losing by just 14 points to a UConn team that most thought would dominate.

After the game, UConn head Coach, Geno Auriemma praised the Pirates. “It really didn’t surprise me how quickly they were playing and how fast they were scoring,” said Auriemma. He continued, “They have a good team. They have a team that when they’re shooting the ball well, they get a lot of confidence and they feed off of that.”

The Pirates shot 13-of-34 from downtown, which gave the Huskies a lot of trouble. Coach Bozzella of the Pirates mirrored Auriemma’s praise for the Pirates, by giving it up for his own team. “As great as a program as they (UConn) are, I think we have a great program and we’re trying to continue to build are program.”

Seton Hall will have a chance to do just that, as they travel to Iona on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Seton Hall will look to improve to 6-4 in that game, which will ultimately prove to be a huge road test for a team with NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Mat Mlodzinski can be reached at matthew.mlodzinski@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Women's Basketball