Seton Hall
Recap: Seton Hall Drops Away Clash at Villanova, 76-73
Date: January 1, 2022By: Ryan Johnston
Seton Hall Athletics
In their last game of 2021, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team fell in a thriller to Villanova, losing 76-73.
The Wildcats came out firing and jumped to an early 8-4 lead. However, Seton Hall came roaring back and ended the first quarter with a 20-14 lead, getting their advantage up to as much as eight earlier on.
Curtessia Dean had a particularly prolific first quarter, knocking down two three-pointers to put the Pirates up eight. Mya Jackson also knocked down a few shots early.
Curtessia Dean drains the three-pointer and the Pirates lead, 10-8, at the media break of the first quarter!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/PMVkqY50O5
— Seton Hall Women’s Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 31, 2021
Pirates on fire from 3 to start the game! They lead 20-14 to start the 1st. pic.twitter.com/yfqLnZkIVO
— WSOU Sports (@WSOUSports) December 31, 2021
The second quarter was more of the same. Seton Hall continued its first quarter momentum and pounced on the Wildcats, extending the lead up to 12 points. However, Villanova, battled back, bringing the lead to within six going into the halftime break off a jumper from Lior Garzon.
Lauren Park-Lane and Andra Espinoza-Hunter went into the halftime with 10 apiece. Maddy Siegrist had an uncharacteristically poor first half, scoring just five points in the 20 minutes.
Andra Espinoza-Hunter gets The Hall's offense started in the second quarter with another bomb from three-point range!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/UvXVScnLiF
— Seton Hall Women’s Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 31, 2021
Here's a better look at that LP to Dean pass in the first half... another beauty from the Pirate point guard...#HALLin pic.twitter.com/AMZhKjSs1a
— Seton Hall Women’s Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 31, 2021
The third quarter started out poorly for the Pirates. Villanova went on a nice early run and got their first lead since the first quarter, 45-44. Siegrist also started to get more involved in the Wildcats’ offense, knocking down a few buckets in the third.
However, Espinoza-Hunter and Sidney Cooks kept the Pirates afloat, both of whom scored seven points in the quarter. The Pirates went into the third on a nice 10-2 run and led Villanova by seven, 57-50.
The fourth quarter is where things fell apart for Seton Hall. Garzon, Siegrist, Brooke Mullin, and Brianna Herlihy went on a 17-8 run, taking the lead to 67-65. From there, it was an extremely back-and-forth affair to around 40 seconds left in the game, with Villanova having the lead 74-69.
Park-Lane had bad a turnover, forcing the Pirates to foul. However, a bad pass by Mullin after the inbound led to a Park-Lane scoop and score, bringing the lead to three with 19 seconds remaining.
The Pirates were forced to foul after, sending Herlihy to the line to shoot two. She made both, and then Espinoza-Hunter made a layup to cut the lead to three again. Immediately after, Garzon turned the ball over, giving Seton Hall the ball with around nine seconds left in the game with a chance to tie. However, Espinoza-Hunter missed the three to tie, and that was the ball game.
LEADERS:
— WSOU Sports (@WSOUSports) December 31, 2021
SHU
Points- AEH (20)
Rbds- Cooks (12)
Asts- LPL (10)
Nova
Points- Siegrist (23)
Rbds- Herhily (12)
Asts- Herhily (5)
With the loss, the Pirates fall to 6-6 on the season and 1-3 in Big East play. Their next game comes on Jan. 4, when they’ll take on the Towson Tigers. Be sure to tune into 89.5 FM WSOU to catch all of the action.
Ryan Johnston can be reached at ryan.johnston@student.shu.edu.
Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball, WSOU