BOX SCORE (hmtl)
WEST HARTFORD, Conn.Despite trailing by one at the half, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team defeated Hartford, 59-53 on Wednesday night at Chase Arena. Seton Hall improves to 5-2 with the win, while Hartford falls to 4-3 with the loss. The Pirates were led by Ela Mukosiej (Bilystok, Poland), who scored 19 points and recorded seven rebounds. Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) played an impressive game, recording her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
In addition to Mukosiej and Blake, the Pirates had two other players score in double-digits. Senior Heta Korpivaara (Espoo, Finland) and sophomore Jadis Rhodin (Lakehurst, N.J.) each scored 11. The Pirates shot 43.8 percent from the field, and held Hartford to just 27.7 percent. Seton Hall out-rebounded Hartford, 43-39.
The two teams played an even first half, with Hartford leading 24-23, despite Seton Hall shooting 28.0% and holding Hartford to 24.2% from the field. However, Hartford held the edge in offensive boards, grabbing 14 compared to the Pirates seven. The two teams had three lead changes in the first half, as the Pirates held the lead for the first 11 minutes. The Hawks took the lead at 10:17 remaining in the half, where they went on a 6-0 run lead, holding the Pirates scoreless for four minutes. The Pirates took the lead back with 5:25 remaining in the half, and went up 21-15 with 3:45 remaining in the half. However, the teams traded the lead for the final time in the half, as the Hawks battled back and went up by one as the teams headed to the locker room. Mukosiej scored nine points in the half.
The second half was a battle of the defense, although the Pirates shot an impressive 60.9 percent from the field. The two teams played neck-and-neck, as neither team had a lead greater than five points. However, Seton Hall went on a 11-0 run from 3:26 remaining to :35, to give the Pirates a 58-47 lead. The Pirates started the run with two game-making plays: Blake hit two free throws, followed by a lay-up 40 seconds later, and Rhodin hit a critical trey the next time down the floor to give the Pirates a 54-47 lead with 2:10 remaining. Hartford’s Marylynne Schaefer hit a three with 35 seconds remaining, and Jamie McCabe hit another three for Hartford to cut the lead to six. However, the Pirates held off and went on to win 59-53.
Hartford’s Schaefer scored 18 points.
The Pirates will next travel to Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 2. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
