Recap: Pirates lock up the third seed in win over St. John's, 59-43

Date: March 2, 2021

By: Justin Nicosia

Seton Hall Athletics

The Seton Hall Pirates were blessed earlier today when Butler pulled off a massive upset against No. 25 DePaul, opening the door for the Pirates to take the No. 3 spot in the Big East conference tournament. All they had to do was win against St. John’s today and win they did.

 

It was a dominant performance from the ladies in blue who only trailed in the first minute of the game en route to a 59-43 victory. The Pirates first took a double-digit lead with 8:05 left in the second quarter. After a St. John’s three pointer, Seton Hall re-gained a double-digit lead with 5:52 left in the half. They would maintain that margin for the next 13 minutes, until a 6-0 St. John’s run cut the lead to seven with 2:03 left in the third quarter.

 

However, that run would quickly be squandered as Seton Hall extended their lead to 13 by the end of the quarter and never looked back, despite the best effort from St. Johns’ Unique Drake (16 points, 6-9 FG, 2-2 3PT) For a team whose games typically feature quick plays and lots of threes, today’s game was dramatically different, defined by fantastic defensive play and only 35 total three-point attempts from both teams.

That's a deep three from @StJohnsWBB's Unique Drake! #BIGEASTwbb pic.twitter.com/c65wRmP689

— BIG EAST WBB (@BIGEASTWBB) March 2, 2021

Seton Hall’s defense played their typical hard-nosed perimeter defense, holding the Red Storm to only three of 20 from downtown. Their defensive struggles from close range were not apparent today, as the Pirates held a team with multiple strong inside scorers to just 45.7% on two-point attempts. The team also forced 17 turnovers, giving St. John’s a hard time to get back into the game.

 

Offensively, the Pirates were led by none other than Desiree Elmore, who recorded a career-high 30 points on 11of 16 shooting from the field. She also converted all eight of her free throw attempts tonight. Elmore easily took home our WSOU Sports Player of the Game honors tonight, with significant defensive contributions in addition to her offensive ones. She fell one rebound short of her fifth double-double in seven games. She also recorded three blocks and two steals. Two other Pirates, Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Lauren Park-Lane recorded double digit points, with 10 and 13, respectively.

... and with this bucket, Desiree Elmore becomes the 23rd player in Seton Hall women's basketball history to score 1,000 points in a Pirate uniform.#HALLin pic.twitter.com/6uLPc8yFcI

— Seton Hall Women’s Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 2, 2021

This was a must-win game for the Pirates, as a loss would have been devastating for the tournament aspirations of a team already sitting firmly on the bubble. Now the Pirates have a date on Saturday against the winner of Creighton-Georgetown. Seton Hall swept the season series against Georgetown, winning 60-52 in the first meeting between the two teams, and grabbing a 79-72 overtime victory in their home game. Creighton beat the Pirates 77-76 in overtime in their lone matchup this year, despite the Pirates leading by as much as 13 at one point.

 

As long as Seton Hall can avoid an embarrassing conference tournament loss (such as a loss in their first game), they should have done enough to hear their name called two weeks from tonight on Selection Monday.

Justin Nicosia can be reached at justin.nicosia@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball