Seton Hall picks up a big win against Butler on Senior Day

Date: March 2, 2020

By: Heaven Hill

After pulling away after halftime against Xavier and winning by double digits, the Pirates led almost the entire game and defeated the Butler Bulldogs 66-53, sending the graduating class of players and managers with a win on Senior Day.

This game featured an interesting dynamic, because if Seton Hall won, then they’d have to play Butler in the quarterfinals of the BIG East tournament on Saturday. Essentially, neither coach would want to reveal their hands with rotations or certain game plans, with a rematch so close by.

This is eerily similar to what the men’s team dealt with, playing Iowa State in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, then going to play them in Ames, Ia. A major difference there, however, is obviously that the teams aren’t conference foes and the second game didn’t have nearly as big stakes as a potential rematch between these teams would.

Seton Hall’s head coach Tony Bozzella mentioned pregame that the major key to victory would be to stop Kristen Spolyar offensively and to move the ball around against Butler’s stifling defense. Spolyar came into the game averaging close to 19 points, so it wouldn’t be an easy feat.

Needless to say, the Pirates set the tone in the first quarter and completely shut down the Bulldogs, allowing just eight points on 25% from the field and forcing Spolyar to miss every shot in the opening period. The Hall closed out the quarter with a buzzer beater three as well from Alexia Allesch, extending their lead to eight.

This was a positive change from Friday’s game, where they trailed after one quarter despite scoring a decent amount and shooting a good percentage. They executed on Bozzella’s game plan, forcing six turnovers to start the game and took a solid advantage into the second period.

In the second quarter, the Butler offense woke up and had arguably their best stretch of the game, with 50/40/100 shooting splits and shooting four free throws in the quarter after not getting to the line in the opening 10 minutes. Spolyar had five points and two rebounds in the quarter, swishing all her attempts and Butler crushed the Pirates 10-4 on the glass that quarter as well.

She was joined in scoring by three other Bulldogs as they went on an 8-0 run to cut the halftime lead to two after the Pirates stretched the lead to 10 and took their foot off the pedal a bit.

After halftime, the dominant scoring duo of Shadeen Samuels and Alexis Lewis did what they’ve done for most of the season: put up big numbers. They combined for 16 points and seven rebounds as they together outscored the Bulldogs in the third quarter.

While the Pirates couldn’t make a three in the quarter, they feasted in the paint off transition baskets, after forcing more turnovers. It was clear that the Pirates had done their scouting, and with Butler averaging over 18 turnovers a game this season, the two-way potential of Lewis, Samuels and Elmore really stood out. Seton Hall pushed the lead out to nine as they entered the final quarter of the regular season.

Entering the fourth quarter, it was Lewis and Samuels yet again, as they combined for 14 points in this quarter as they both finished with a Myles Powell-like brilliant second half of 15 points. The Pirates were arguably outperformed from the field in the final quarter, but the Pirates were able to drive the nail in the coffin with some clutch technical free throws for the dagger.

To wrap up, what a way for Seton Hall to close out the regular season and cap off the weekend with two big wins to solidify their conference standings. The team led for almost the entire game, Samuels and Lewis both finished with over 20 points in what might be their last games in Walsh Gymnasium, and they found a way to bounce back after the tough loss at St. John’s. 

The Pirates move to 18-11 and 11-7 in conference, with six days off before they play Butler in Chicago on Saturday. With Ronny Castaneda and Bob Towey on the call, it’s sure to be a great matchup.

Heaven Hill can be reached at heaven.hill@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU, Women's Basketball