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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Seton Hall women’s basketball team raced out to a commanding first half lead and cruised to a 66-47 win over Howard in the opening game of the Aeropostale Seton Hall Basketball Classic on Friday night in Walsh Gym. The Pirates were paced by senior Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) and sophomore Shantel Brown (Lakewood, N.J.) who scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Seton Hall raced out of the gates behind Blake, who scored the Pirates’ first six points after Howard opened the game with a free throw and jumper to take a 3-2 lead, its only of the game. After Courtney Smiley got the Bison within 8-7 at the 16:21 mark, the Pirates used a 14-3 run to take control of the game. Junior Ela Mukosiej (Bialystok, Poland) hit a three-pointer and jumper on consecutive possessions to cap the run.
The Bison got within 26-19 on a three from Melloni Benson with 6:45 to go in the half, but that was as close as the Pirates let their opponents get the rest of the way. SHU used another 16-3 run at the end of the half to take a 42-22 lead into the intermission. Blake led the scoring in the first half with 10 points, but eight other Pirates tallied at least two points in the opening stanza as they shot 41.7 percent as a team.
Seton Hall took its largest lead of the game on the opening possession of the second half as Brown hit a three-pointer to make it 45-22. The Bison used a 10-1 run over a seven-minute span to cut the deficit to 52-38 with 10:52 to play. Carlisle and Christina Aden each had three points in the spurt to get Howard back in the game, but Noteisha Womack (Fort Washington, Md.) ended the scoring drought for SHU with a short hook in the lane.
The Pirates eventually pushed the lead back up to 63-42 with 3:03 to play on another bucket from Womack. A three-pointer from Aden for Howard and a layup and foul shot from Brown down the stretch for Seton Hall settled the final score.
Blake finished with her first double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Womack also grabbed 10 boards to go with nine points. Brown added three assists and three steals with 13 points. The Pirates shot 39.3 percent from the floor for the game and forced 25 Howard turnovers.
Carlisle led the Bison with 11 points, while Aden chipped in with 10 points. Melloni Benson and Tamaya Daniels each grabbed six rebounds to lead the team. Howard shot just 29.6 percent from the floor for the game.
The Pirates return to action on Saturday, Nov. 18, when they play in the championship of the Aeropostale Seton Hall Basketball Classic against either Massachusetts or Navy at 3:00 p.m. Howard will face the loser in the consolation game at 1:00 p.m.
