WSOU

Preview: Pirates Set to Duel with Orange in Second Round of WNIT

Date: March 20, 2023

By: Nate Taylor

Azana Baines goes through traffic for the nice lay-in.

Seton Hall Athletics

The Seton Hall Pirates will try to steal a second round win against the Syracuse Orange at the Historic Walsh Gymnasium after defeating the St. Joseph’s Hawks in the first round.

On Thursday against the Hawks, the Pirates came out firing on all cylinders as they outscored St. Joseph’s 31-13 in the first quarter. However, they slowed down a bit in the second half and the lead got cut down to as little as two.

Lauren Park-Lane scored 19 of her game-high 30 points in the first quarter to lead the Pirates, and that’s the kind of start they will need against a very fast-paced team like Syracuse.

Offensively, the Orange are 43rd in the country in points per game, as well as 34th in field goal attempts per game and that’s partly due to also being 21st in steals per game. They like to get out in transition and turn their defense into offense. Taking care of the ball and making shots early will be key for the Pirates.

Seton Hall shot very well from three in their win over St. Joseph’s, shooting over 40 percent with 9-of-22 from downtown. Park-Lane and Sidney Cooks combined for seven threes on just 11 attempts which opened up a lot for their offense.

Syracuse is a very good team when it comes to defending the three-ball as opponents on the season shoot just 28.7 percent from range against them on the season. We’ve seen the Pirates struggle from deep at times this season, but it will be imperative to try and stretch out a good Orange defense.

Coming into Monday’s contest, the Pirates are 19-14 overall and 10-10 in conference play, good for sixth in the BIG EAST this year.

For the Orange, they’re 19-12 on the season and 9-9 in conference games, finishing ninth in the ACC. Syracuse is coming off a dominant victory in the first round against Kent State, 84-56.

Their leading scorer on the season, Dyashia Fair, had a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds. The Orange had 25 points off turnovers, over a quarter of the teams total for the game.

Dyashia Fair vs Lauren Park-Lane will be an especially exciting matchup with both being top 25 scorers in the nation. Fair sits at 21st with an average of 19.9 points per game, while Park-Lane ranks 16th with 20.7.

All-time, the Pirates lead the series 28-25, but have lost their last six matchups against the Orange. The last time the two teams faced off was all the way back in 2013 at the Carrier Dome, where the Pirates were blown out by a score of 65-34.

The Hall will look to break their six-game losing streak to Syracuse with a win at the historic Walsh Gymnasium. Tune in to WSOU 89.5 FM for tipoff at 7 p.m. where Will Swankie and Jonathan Heite will be on the call.

Nate Taylor can be reached at nathaniel.taylor@student.shu.edu.

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

Seton Hall

Seton Hall

Merchandise

wsou store