Seton Hall Looking to End the Regular Season Off Right

Published: Sunday, March 3, 2024

by Ryan Henry

Seton Hall women’s basketball will conclude their regular season and honor their seniors against Creighton this Sunday. It’s a rematch of their Jan. 28 matchup where the Pirates lost to the Bluejays 57-49 in Omaha.

The Pirates are coming off a huge win in Providence against the Friars on Wednesday where they won 71-65.

It was a game that saw neither team take a significant lead. The Pirates led by six late into the third quarter, but Providence responded with a 9-0 run to take the lead entering the fourth quarter.

The first seven minutes of the fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair that didn’t see a lead greater than three points. Providence led 65-62 with 3:03 left but Seton Hall went on a 9-0 run themselves to take a lead they would never relinquish. 

Leading the way for the Pirates once again was Azana Baines. She finished the night with 22 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, on 10-of-16 shooting from the field. It was her fifth game this season scoring over the 20-point mark.

Seton Hall had two other double-digit scorers in Sha’Lynn Hagans and Kae Satterfield. Hagans finished with 13 points, her second-most of the season. Since being placed in the starting lineup against Xavier on Feb. 10, she has scored eight-plus points in five straight games.

Satterfield finished with a near double-double as she recorded 12 points and eight rebounds. She’s also seen a scoring outburst in the last five games, scoring in double figures in four of those contests. 

Amari Wright returned to the lineup for the first time in over two weeks, missing the last two games with an injury. She was slotted back into the starting lineup where she scored nine points and recorded five rebounds in 31 minutes played.

The Pirates were without Savannah Catalon who has served as their sixth woman this season, playing in every other contest this season, and picking up two Big East Freshman of the Week honors. Seton Hall hopes it can get her services against a Creighton team with many good perimeter players.

Speaking of the Bluejays, the number 23 ranked team in the country has only lost twice in the calendar year, both to the University of Connecticut. They just came off a 38-point drubbing of Xavier where they scored the most points in a game this season with 99. 

Creighton is led by their senior trio of Emma Ronsiek, Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly, who all average over 14 points-per-game. The three of them combined for 60 points against Xavier on 59-percent shooting from the field. The Pirates did a good job containing the trio in Omaha, forcing all of them to shoot 40-percent or worse from the field while they committed a combined eight turnovers.

In their previous matchup, Seton Hall in general did a great job containing Creighton, being one of five teams to hold the Bluejays to under 60 points in a game this season. If the Pirate can replicate that defensive performance in South Orange with some more offensive production, they have a chance to win another game against a top-25 team in the country.

Seton Hall controls their own destiny for the BIG EAST tournament. If they win against Creighton, they will be the six seed playing against Xavier. If they lose and Georgetown defeats Xavier on Saturday, the Pirates will be the seventh seed playing against DePaul.

Tip-off is 3:00 p.m. and WSOU will have your coverage starting at 2:30 p.m on 89.5 FM. Ryan Johnston and Michael Bellifemini are on the call.

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