Seton Hall women's basketball demolishes Wagner, 95-40

Date: November 6, 2018

By Evando Thompson

The Seton Hall women’s basketball team defeated the Wagner Seahawks, 95-40, to start off the 2018-19 non-conference season.

After trailing 6-5 in the opening minutes of the game, the Pirates gained a lead that they would not relinquish for a near wire-to-wire victory.

Graduate transfer guard Victoria Cardaci started the game hot, making four three-pointers in the first quarter alone. Cardaci went on to score 21 points, while hitting a Seton Hall record-tying seven threes.

Cardaci dedicated her effort to the preseason work that the team has put in to get to his point and adjusting to Wagner’s 2-3 zone. “This whole preseason, we have been pushing the issue, playing at a fast pace, in pressure situations,” said Cardaci. “That allowed me to be prepared for the moment. The guards penetrated to get open shots and once we opened up the driving lanes for everyone else, it got the offense flowing to help us win today.”

Aside from the 50 percent field goal shooting and 12 threes the team made, the Pirates played tenacious defense from the opening tip.

Seton Hall forced the Seahawks to cough up the ball 37 times on the night, resulting in 17 fast break points. The Pirates buckled down defensively even more in the second half of the game, holding Wagner to 13 second-half points.

Head Coach Tony Bozella wanted to emphasize the defense going into this game, as he felt in necessary for the team to be solid on both ends of the floor going forward. Emphasizing both the assists and defense played, Bozella was content with the way Cardaci played.

“The three-pointers I know she will make, it’s the assists and everything she’s been working on that really impressed me,” said Bozella. “We need to value the basketball more and play better first half defense. We just need to buckle down and play out our pace, as we have back-to-back games coming up.”

As for the next game on the schedule women’s basketball will be the second of a three-game home stand as the team faces off against Kennesaw State, on Saturday Nov. 10 at 12 p.m.

Evando Thompson can be reached at evando.thompson@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball, WSOU