Credit: GR Productions
Pirates Face Golden Eagles in Massive Evening Matchup
Published: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
by Darren Worrell
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall women’s Basketball team (17-6, 9-3) continues their two-game home stand when they take on the Marquette Golden Eagles (15-6, 7-5) at historic Walsh Gymnasium. The Pirates will look to sweep the season series against the Golden Eagles after winning in a close contest 58-52 the last time the two teams met. Jada Eads led all scorers with 20 points in this matchup. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 20-12.
Seton Hall comes into this matchup after a dominating 72-47 victory over the Xavier Musketeers in their last matchup. The story of this game was defense, as the Pirates forced 33 turnovers, setting a new game-high since the 30 turnovers forced against Providence in their BIG EAST opener. The Pirates also recorded 23 steals, the most by any conference team this season, just one shy of Seton Hall’s program record.
Savannah Catalon recorded almost half of those steals with 11, surpassing Hall of Famer and former Seton Hall Women’s Head Coach Phyllis Mangina’s record of 10 steals set in 1978. Catalon led the way with 17 points, while Masonius was not too far behind with 16 points and four rebounds. Eads also made a strong contribution, finishing with 13 points.
Marquette comes into this matchup after a tough 67-65 loss to Butler in their previous game. The Golden Eagles had a chance to tie it at the end but came up just short. Despite the loss, four players scored in double figures. Skylar Forbes led the charge with 14 points, while Halle Vice, Lee Volker, and Olivia Porter contributed 12, 11, and 11 points, respectively.
Slowing down Skylar Forbes will be the biggest challenge in this matchup. She leads the team in scoring with 16.4 points per game. Forbes is also a player you do not want to send to the free-throw line, as she shoots an impressive 89 percent, the second-best mark in the Big East. Another key contributor is Halle Vice, who ranks second on the team with 12.4 points per game, followed closely by Lee Volker at 12.3 points per game.
For Seton Hall to win they will need to lock in on a few areas. The first is to keep Marquette out of the paint and force them to rely on three-point shooting. Marquette is not a great three-point shooting team, hitting only 31 percent from behind the arc.
The second key is to force turnovers. Marquette turns the ball over too much 17 times per game to be exact, so the Pirates need to take full advantage of that.
The third is to keep Skylar Forbes quiet. The Pirates already accomplished that in the first meeting between these teams, so there is no reason they cannot do it again.
The last key is to win the rebounding battle. Marquette is a strong rebounding team, making this a crucial factor in the matchup.
The Pirates will look to keep their momentum rolling when they take on Marquette. Tipoff is set for 7:00 P.M., with Spencer Gonzalez and Jack Pine on the call for 89.5 FM WSOU. Pregame coverage starts at 6:30 P.M., with Mike Federico and Sean Casey breaking it all down.
Darren Worrell can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu.Posted in: sports,