Credit: Kyle Ferreira
Early Push Helps Pirates Win Over Le Moyne, 68-41
Published: Saturday, December 14, 2024
by Chris Jones
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J - The Seton Hall Pirates extended their three-game winning streak to four with a dominant 68-41 win over the Le Moyne Dolphins on Saturday.
The first quarter was truly a treat for all Pirate fans to watch, as the team seemed unstoppable for 10 minutes. The Dolphins were a team entering this match allowing opponents to shoot 35.2% from the three-point line. But the Pirates embodied the “I’ll one up you” mentality, and were able to shoot a whopping 63.6% from downtown.
Savannah Catalon and Yaya Lops both shot 2-3 from distance and led the charge in the quarter, with Faith Masonius right with them going 3-4 from the field. The Dolphins were held to just four points, and it came down to what Coach Bozzella said he wanted to do: winning the turnover battle. Creating seven of them and only giving up one of their own, the Pirates controlled the game throughout the first quarter, as it ended a whopping 27-4.
As the second quarter began, fans saw much of the same coming from the Pirates. While still looking to shoot from distance, they were not as efficient, going 3-12 with the three buckets coming from Jada Eads. Eads was the focal point on the court, going 3-6 from range on the afternoon. The freshman has continuously looked to develop her game, getting her second start on the season today.
But the Dolphins weren’t going to go down easy, as they shot increasingly better from the first quarter. Le Moyne shot 13.3% from the field and 0% from three, but turned the dials up to 50% from the field and 60% from three in the second. Yet it wasn’t enough, as the Pirates still went into halftime with a huge lead, 42-19.
In the third quarter, Seton Hall started to have a bit of an offensive drought, only scoring 13 points. After a first and second quarter that saw 27 and 15, respectively, the Pirates were not as efficient on their shots. From the three-point line, they went a cold 1-7, only 14.3%.
The big storyline is the transfer from Faith Masonius, getting her 1000th career point off a big-time reverse layup. While totaling 832 points in her five years at the University of Maryland, she now becomes the 26th Pirate of all time to eclipse that mark.
The fourth quarter was a copy and paste of the third quarter, in which both the Pirates scored 13 and the Dolphins scored 11. Seton Hall began to focus more on the down low game, only taking four shots from distance and 10 in the paint. Lops got the most on the board, going 2-4 from three, with 12 points and six rebounds. Seton Hall were able to close out their dominant performance with the 68-41 win.
The Seton Hall Pirates will travel up to Uncasville, Connecticut, where on Dec. 17 they will take on the No. 4 ranked LSU Tigers at 6:00 p.m.
Chris Jones can be reached at chris.jones@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,