Seton Hall Gears Up for Road Test At St. John’s

Published: Sunday, February 23, 2025

by AJ Rayer

QUEENS, N.Y. - The Seton Hall Pirates (18-8, 10-5) will begin their last stretch of conference play when they travel to Queens to take on the St. John’s Red Storm (14-12, 4-11) in Carnesecca Arena on Sunday afternoon.

For Seton Hall, closing out the last few games of conference play with wins is essential for seeding the Big East tournament, as the top four teams in the conference will receive a first round bye. Seton Hall is currently in fourth place but can move up in the standings with a 3-0 finish to conference play.  

Last time out, the Pirates were competitive with #5 UConn at home until the closing minutes of the second quarter, in which the Huskies offense started taking over the game and never looked back. Seton Hall ended up losing 91-49, as the Huskies stayed undefeated in conference play.  

Seton Hall and St. John’s previously matched up back in January in which the Pirates escaped with a 57-48 win at home in Walsh Gym. The Pirates found themselves down three points heading into the fourth quarter, but they were able to climb back and outscore St. John’s 17-9 in the final period, clinching the win. Ber’Nyah Mayo led all scorers with 18 for the Johnnies while Faith Masonius had 16 points on 7-16 shooting for Seton Hall.  

Looking at St. John’s, they have really struggled in conference play after going 10-1 to start the year. The Red Storm find themselves in eighth place in the conference. However, their 4-11 conference record is misleading, as a good portion of their games have come down to the final possession. St. John’s has lost one possession games to Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette, and #23 Creighton this season.  

Most recently they played at Creighton on Wednesday night in Omaha. Notably, the Bluejays only have one loss in conference play, which was to UConn. The fourth quarter yet again was the problem for St. John’s as they entered with a five-point lead and ended up losing by three. Lashae Dwyer scored 18 points, while Kylie Lavelle had 14 for St. John’s. Morgan Maly was the difference for the Bluejays as she scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half.  

The key for the Pirates on Sunday will be to build a lead early, and play through Masonius and Lops in the paint. St. John’s ranks last in the BIG EAST in blocks per game, so getting in the paint for high percentage looks will be important. Defensively, the Pirates will need to key in on the guards on the perimeter, specifically Dwyer, who is leading the Johnnies with 13.2 points per game.

Seton Hall also leads the conference in steals and is second in turnover margin, mainly due to their full court press, which they have implemented during certain stretches of their games. Look for the Pirates to start the game out by playing aggressively on the defensive side of the ball.  

Seton Hall will look for a crucial road win as they will look to complete the season sweep of St. John’s. C.J Weipz and Jackson Shank will have the call for 89.5 FM WSOU live from Carnesecca Arena at 4:30 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 4:00 with Bobby Steiner and Brian Henderson. 

AJ Rayer can be reached at alexander.rayer@student.shu.edu. 

 

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