Preview: Pirates face ranked opponent in DePaul

Date: February 15, 2021

By: Louie Pasculli

Seton Hall Athletics

Coming up later today we have Seton Hall versus DePaul and we are in store for a great game. Taking a look at Seton Hall, they are a team that had a six-game winning streak snapped by powerhouse UConn. Then, in the very next game, they lost in heartbreaking fashion in overtime against Creighton. On the other side, DePaul is nationally ranked at No. 22 and they too fell victim to No. 2 UConn after going on a winning streak of their own. 

 

A player Seton Hall will rely on in taking down DePaul is recent transfer student Andra Espinoza-Hunter. She leads the team in scoring averaging 19.1 points-per-game and is one of Seton Hall’s most prominent offensive players.

Seton Hall has four players ranked in the top 30 in the Big East for scoring and if they want to come out of this game victorious, there are going to have to continue playing to their strengths.

 

The other three ranked players are Desiree Elmore, who is second in the Big East in rebounds with 8.3 and sixth in the Big East in scoring with 16.7, Lauren Park-Lane and Mya Jackson who averages 12 points-per-game. Combined with players like Alexia Allesch and Mya Bembry that are good defensively, Seton Hall has players who are good in all phases and stages of the game. 

Free in South Orange!

After a Desiree Elmore bucket, @SHUWBB gets a stop and the Pirates and Jays are going to overtime. #BIGEASTwbb pic.twitter.com/0ZOgDvqJHb

— BIG EAST WBB (@BIGEASTWBB) February 13, 2021

This is going to be important in defeating a team as good as DePaul. Conversely, the aforementioned loss to UConn did not seem to derail DePaul. The loss was rather lopsided as the final was 100 to 67 in favor of the Big East leaders and DePaul only had two players score more than 10 point in the contest.  The Blue Demons went on to win their next two games after the UConn defeat and they had four then five players score more than 10 points in their following games, respectively.

 

DePaul is led by scorer Sonya Morris who averages just under 19 points-per-game, ranked fifth in the big east, and 3.4 assists-per-game which is good for second on the team.  

"Sonya Morris is on !"@DePaulWBBHoops c'n't miss in the early goings in Queens! #BIGEASTwbb pic.twitter.com/DYwx6TyZGR

— BIG EAST WBB (@BIGEASTWBB) February 10, 2021

With a surrounding cast of players by the likes of Lexi Held who is seventh in the Big East in assists and first in the Big East in steals and Deja Church and

Darrione Rogers who are both averaging more than five rebounds-per-game,

DePaul is surely going to be one of Seton Hall’s harder tests of the season. The action tipoffs at 7:00 p.m. at Wintrust Arena meaning Seton Hall will be on the road for this match up. Expect a lot of offense and a high scoring affair in this one it should be fun to watch.  

Louie Pasculli can be reached at louis.pasculli@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Game Previews, Sports, Women's Basketball