BOX SCORE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. A career-high 23 points from junior Ela Mukosiej (Bilystok, Poland) helped the Seton Hall women’s basketball team overcome a seven-point halftime deficit on the way to a 69-59 win over Syracuse. The Pirates (13-8, 5-5) have won four straight in the BIG EAST for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Senior Monique Blake (Union, N.J.) posted a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 12 rebounds to go along with five assists. Senior Heta Korpivaara (Espoo, Finland) also hit was in double figures for the Pirates with 13 points. Syracuse freshman Nicole Michael netted a game-high 29.
The SHU defense dictated the pace in the early going as the Pirates took an 8-2 lead. The Orange finally hit their first field goal with 12:37 left in the first as they struggled to keep up, and the Hall went up 14-9 on a Noteisha Womack (Ft. Washington, Md.) jumper.
Syracuse suddenly came alive, putting together a 10-0 run to take a five-point lead. The Orange stretched the advantage to 25-18 by halftime.
Consecutive Korpivaara jumpers capped an 8-0 Pirate spurt out of the break as they retook the lead at 26-25. After trading buckets, two free throws from Nicole Emery (Baldwin, N.Y.) put SHU in front for good at 30-29 with 12:59 left.
The Pirates steadily pulled away, going up 43-34 on Mukosiej’s bucket at the 8:53 mark. Emery’s lay-up three minutes later pushed the advantage to 13, forcing a Syracuse timeout. The Orange made a final push with a 6-0 run to get back to within 53-46, but SHU hit 14-of-16 free throws in the final 1:36 to seal the win.
The Pirates’ 51 second-half points were a season-high. Syracuse was limited to 59 points overall, making SHU a perfect 13-0 when keeping its opponent below 60.
Seton Hall returns to action on Feb. 6 when hosting Georgetown at Walsh Gymnasium. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
