WSOU

Recap: Seton Hall Picks Up Exciting Home Victory Over St. John's, 84-79

Date: January 20, 2022

By: Liam Plate

Seton Hall's Lauren Park-Lane takes a jumpshot during a home game vs. St. John's.

Wilnir Louis/WSOU Sports

On Wednesday night, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team (8-7 overall, 3-4 conference) got a huge win over the St. John’s Red Storm (5-11 overall, 1-5 conference) in a tightly contested match up by a score of 84-79.

Junior phenom Lauren Park-Lane had another dominant game, dropping 31 points. With this game, she became the first player in Seton Hall history to score back-to-back 30-point games. Andra Espinoza-Hunter also added on 25 points of her own.

Seton Hall head coach Tony Bozzella and Andra Espinoza-Hunter pose for a photo in honor of her 1,000-point achievement.

Kayla Fonseca/WSOU Sports

Seton Hall did not start the game out strong as the Johnnies jumped out to a 21-9 lead in the first quarter. Shots weren’t falling and the team simply struggled to get going in general offensively.

At the end of the quarter, Seton Hall was shooting 25% from the field and went 0/6 from behind the three-point line. On the St. John’s side, the first quarter was all Unique Drake. She scored 11 points and dominated the Pirates on the offensive side of the ball.

The second quarter was a completely different story. The Pirates came out swinging and won the quarter, 28-18, and completely made up for their weak first quarter. Park-Lane and Espinoza-Hunter combined for 26 points in the second quarter.

Seton Hall's Lauren Park-Lane celebrates during a home game vs. St. John's.

Wilnir Louis/WSOU Sports

Seton Hall was also able to apply a lot of pressure on St. John’s in this quarter defensively, which is what limited the Red Storm on the offensive side. Katie Armstrong played a big part in the first half, as well. It may not show up on the stat sheet, but she was all over the floor making the hustle plays that are needed to win games that are close like this.

The Pirates played well enough offensively in the second quarter that they cut the score down to a two-point deficit at halftime.

The third quarter saw another Pirate shine, as Sidney Cooks scored 11 of her 13 points. At this point in the game, Seton Hall was outrebounding the Red Storm, and it was making all the difference when it came to second chance points and getting points in the paint. Their rebounding also helped them set the tempo and control the game’s pace.

For St. John’s, Kadaja Bailey came alive on offense scoring nine of her 17 points along with Leilani Correa who scored six of her 19 points. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Pirates had a three-point lead, but the game was far from over.

The two teams were trading baskets in the fourth and quarter and it was tied for most of the time with the exception of the occasional one-point lead. Park-Lane scored 12 of her 31 points in the final quarter including an electric and-one play that set Walsh Gymnasium into a frenzy.

Mya Bembry also hit a few huge shots from the corner that helped the Pirates stay in it late in the game. She scored six of her 10 points in the fourth. In the final minutes, Seton Hall was able to force key turnovers and make important foul shots to ice the game and get the win.

This is a huge win that follows their 20-point victory over the Providence Friars. Getting this win was key because now they have split their season series with St. John’s and go into their game on Friday against No. 9 UConn on a two-game winning streak with a couple of intense wins.

You can catch coverage of the team’s game against UConn on the flagship station for Seton Hall women’s basketball, 89.5 FM WSOU. Coverage will start at 6:30 p.m. with the game tipping off at 7 p.m.

Liam Plate can be reached at liam.plate@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, Women's Basketball, WSOU

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