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Preview: Seton Hall Hosts FDU in WNIT First Round Matchup

Date: March 16, 2022

By: Joe Walls

Seton Hall's Sidney Cooks and Andra Espinoza-Hunter stand on the court during a home game.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU Sports

It’s WNIT postseason basketball time for the Seton Hall women’s basketball team, as they will take on the Fairleigh Dickinson University Knights at Walsh Gym at 7 p.m. in South Orange, N.J.

Looking at the Pirates, they come into the matchup still on a roll despite dropping their semifinal game in the Big East Tournament to Villanova. This is Seton Hall’s seventh time making the postseason in the last nine seasons, and their first time back in the WNIT since declining an invite last season due to COVID-19 concerns.

As for the Knights, they also come off a semifinal loss to Bryant in the Northeast Conference Tournament, and they are making it to the WNIT for the first time in program history.

The focus for the Pirates again has to be on the defensive side of the ball. In their loss to Villanova, they allowed 64 points on 23/52 shooting. As long as players like Sidney Cooks, Mya Bembry and Katie Armstrong do not allow the Knights to take good shots and play lockdown defense, this should be a good game.

As for offense, the Pirates should still try to look to Mya Bembry, despite going scoreless against the Wildcats, as she should still have the hot hand after hitting a game-winner against the Creighton Blue Jays in the conference tournament. Giving the ball to players like Lauren Park-Lane, Andra Espinoza-Hunter, and Cooks will be crucial for the end of the run in the WNIT.

On the opposite side of the floor the Pirates have to look to shut down Aniya Bell, who scored 20 points against Sacred Heart on 6/10 shooting from the field, as well as only missing two three-pointers during the entire game. Another name to look out for is Madison Stanley, who was only one point behind Bell with 19 in that same performance.

On the defensive end, the Pirates have to find a way to play around 6-foot-2 center Maddisyn Mahoney, who will more than likely be paired up against Cooks, who stands at 6-foot-4.

Seton Hall should be able to take it to the Knights from the perimeter, as the Pirates have a slightly better three-point percentage then the Knights with more attempts taken during the season. Seton Hall has the experience in this matchup as well, with more upperclassmen than the Knights with four on the Pirates side and three for the Knights.

That also goes for postseason experience with players like Cooks who transferred from Mississippi State and had plenty of success in the women’s NCAA Tournament.

The Pirates and Knights will both look to advance to the second round of the WNIT, where they will play either Stony Brook or Virginia Commonwealth University.

Tune into 89.5 FM WSOU where Jorie Mickens and Jonathan Heite will be on the call at 7 p.m. for coverage of Seton Hall’s first round matchup in the WNIT.

Joe Walls can be reached at joseph.walls@student.shu.edu.

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

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