Credit: GR Productions
Pirates Begin BIG EAST Tournament Play against St. John’s in Quarterfinal
Published: Friday, March 6, 2026
by Joe Morales
UNCASVILLE, C.T. - The Seton Hall Pirates (18-11, 12-8 CONF) gear up for a quarterfinal matchup in the BIG EAST Tournament against the St. John’s Red Storm (21-10, 11-9 CONF).
The Pirates secured the third seed in this year’s tournament following St. John’s loss at home to No. 1 UConn on Sunday night. It marks the second consecutive year the Pirates finish third in the BIG EAST, and third time since UConn rejoined the conference in 2020-2021.
Injuries have plagued the Pirates of late and have tested the team's depth at the guard position. Since all-conference guard Jada Eads’ injury at DePaul on January 17, the Pirates have started three different players at the spot due to injuries.
Shailyn Pinkey, Natalia Hall-Rosa, and Ari Woodard have started but missed time, in addition to Ja’Kahla Craft, who went down against Xavier on February 18, and Savannah Catalon, who was injured in the Hall's most recent game at Butler and did not return.
The Pirates and Jonnies played twice in the month of February, with St. John’s picking off both games. In the two games, the Red Storm controlled the boards in the two contests and outrebounded Seton Hall 85-57. The Pirates will need to limit St. John’s on the glass on Saturday.
The status of Catalon and Woodard will be crucial for the Pirates as well. Catalon averages nearly 14 points a game and is important to the Pirates' defensive effort as she led the team with 79 steals in the regular season.
Woodard burst onto the scene in the first meeting between these two teams, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes. Woodard has not played since their second meeting, where she played a season high 37 minutes.
It is not easy to beat the same team three times in a season. With the BIG EAST moving to a full round robin schedule this year, it guarantees all teams meet twice. The Pirates narrowly lost to St. John’s twice this year, and the third matchup should be close.
Barring a meeting in the championship game, this year's BIG EAST Tournament will mark the first time Seton Hall and Creighton do not meet in the tournament since the 2019-2020 season.
Tip-off is set for 9:30 P.M. at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday with Ryan Nelke and Ryder Nuesell on the call on 89.5 FM WSOU.
Joe Morales is the Technical Operations Director at WSOU and can be reached at joseph.morales@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,