Recap: Pirates lose close one to No. 19 DePaul 82-76

Date: February 16, 2021

By: Ryan Johnston 

Seton Hall Athletics

The Seton Hall Pirates came into Wintrust Arena with high hopes of taking down the No. 19 ranked DePaul Blue Demons, but ultimately had those hopes squashed after a close loss. 

 

Both teams came out firing, culminating in a 11-8 lead for DePaul with just over four minutes left in the first quarter, leading broadcaster Rony Jerez to call the game a “track meet.” Andra Espinoza-Hunter grabbed seven rebounds in the first quarter alone. By the end of the first, the Pirates were in front 15-13. 

 

The frenetic pace of both teams quickly gave way to a cold spell as both teams started to tire in the second quarter. A cold spell led to DePaul going scoreless for around two minutes, but they recovered well, scoring 18 points in the second quarter. Seton Hall scored 14, so the game was tied by halftime. Espinoza-Hunter grabbed 13 rebounds by halftime, and Dee Bekelja tallied 12 points for the Blue Demons. 

 

DePaul came out in the third quarter guns blazing, knocking down shot after shot after shot. Star player Sonya Morris really came out cooking after a rather slow first half, getting up to double digit scoring with ease. The Blue Demons outscored the Pirates 30-20, giving them a commanding ten-point lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Kamil Krzaczynski/AP 

The fourth quarter was a serious back and forth, with the Pirates inching their way back into the contest. At one point, DePaul was up by 15, and Seton Hall looked down and out, but the Pirates fought their way back with a couple of back-to-back threes from Lauren Park-Lane and Mya Jackson, some of their only threes of the game. However, despite the Pirates’ best efforts, the Blue Demons prevailed and took home the 82-76 win. 

 

The main factor that led to Seton Hall’s loss was their shooting. The Pirates only shot 19% from beyond the arc and 44% from the charity stripe for the game. DePaul made 16 free throws compared to the Pirates’ seven. This was Seton Hall’s third game out of four in which they shot below average from the three-point line and fourth in a row in which they shot below average. If they shot a little better, the game easily would have been winnable for the Pirates. 

Seton Hall Athletics 

Park-Lane led the scoring with 24 for Seton Hall. Espinoza-Hunter ended up with 15 rebounds, and Park-Lane and Desiree Elmore each dished out five assists. Bekelja led the way for DePaul with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Sonya Morris had five dimes. 

 

It was a disappointing loss in an extremely close game for the Pirates, who will look to capitalize on an easier end to their schedule heading into tournament play. Their next game comes against the Georgetown Hoyas on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at home. Be sure to tune into 89.5 FM WSOU to hear Jorie Mickens and Liam Plate on the call.

Ryan Johnston can be reached at ryan.johnston@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball