WBB Opens Home Stand with The Mount

SETON HALL (3-6) vs. MOUNT ST. MARY'S (3-4) South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) Sunday, Dec. 16 •  2:00 PM Webcast: www.shupirates.com Radio: 89.5 WSOU FM (Play-by-play: Paul Sannitti; Color: Brian Pauling)
ABOUT THE MATCHUP
Seton Hall and Mount St. Mary's University will be meeting for just the second time in program history and the first since the 2000-01 season. Seton Hall won the only prior contest between the two schools, picking up a 71-68 win over the Mountaineers on a neutral floor on Dec. 29, 2000, at the Pathmark Hawk Classic in Philadelphia, Pa.
SETON HALL STATUS Seton Hall begins a five-game home stand after suffering a narrow 64-63 defeat at Wake Forest University on Dec. 8. The Pirates trailed at Wake Forest by 14 points in the first half but came back to lead by as many as four points. Wake Forest won the game by hitting the front end of a pair of free throws with just half a second remaining. Redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons led Seton Hall with 18 points and six assists.
MOUNT ST. MARY'S STATUS After starting the season with a 1-4 record, Mount St. Mary's has won two straight heading into its game with Seton Hall, getting home wins over Maryland Eastern Shore (62-58) and Navy (53-45). Redshirt sophomore Jaqueline Brewer (16 pts) and redshirt junior Sydney Henderson (10 pts) both scored in double figures in the win over Navy. Henderson leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg).
SETON HALL ALL-TIME VS. NEC Seton Hall has faced 10 of the 12 teams that currently comprise the Northeast Conference and the Pirates have a 66-7 all-time record against those schools, including a 1-0 record against Sunday's opponent, Mount St. Mary's. Sunday's game will mark the first time Seton Hall has faced an NEC foe since the Pirates picked up a 90-59 win over Wagner on Nov. 21, 2008.
BIG EAST AND THE NEC The BIG EAST Conference is 6-0 against the Northeast Conference in head-to-head matchups this season. The BIG EAST is 45-3 against the NEC over the past five seasons.
MASEKO INTERVIEWS AS RHODES SCHOLAR FINALIST Senior forward Alexandra Maseko was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in her native Zimbabwe. Maseko flew home to Harare, Zimbabwe, to participate in the Rhodes Scholarship official interview on Tuesday, Dec. 11, hoping to be one of two students chosen for the prestigious international grant. If selected Maseko, a political science major with a 3.824 cumulative grade point average, will begin graduate studies at the University of Oxford for the Fall 2013 semester.
SIMMONS BREAKS OUT Redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons enjoyed one of the best performances of her career against Wake Forest on Dec. 8. She scored a season-high 18 points, just one point shy of matching her career-high, while shooting 6-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. She also set a new career-high with six assists and had three steals and three rebounds in 37 minutes of action.
JOHNSON ERUPTS ON OFFENSE Junior forward Janee Johnson scored in double figures for the first time in a Seton Hall uniform, netting 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting at Wake Forest on Dec. 8. Her points scored and made field goals both represented career-best marks, and she also pulled down six rebounds against the Demon Deacons.
MORRIS AMONG THE NATION'S LEADERS Senior guard Brittany Morris is not only leading the Pirates in scoring, but her free-throw shooting this season stands amongst the leaders in the nation. She is shooting a stellar 90.6 percent (29-for-32) from the free throw line which ranks first in the BIG EAST Conference and 22nd in the country.
PLAYING THE POINT Seton Hall has had a number of different players handle point guard duties throughout the season and the Pirates have already had three different players lead them in assists in multiple games. Redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons has led SHU in assists four times, while sophomore Alexis Brown and senior Brittany Morris have done so three times apiece. Simmons recorded a team-high six assists in the Pirates' last outing against Wake Forest on Dec. 8. Morris leads the team with 25 total assists but Brown is averaging a team-best 2.9 assists per game.
MORRIS LEADING THE CHARGE Senior guard Brittany Morris has led Seton Hall in scoring in six of its nine games, pouring in a season-high 23 points in the Pirates' 60-54 win over Lafayette on Nov. 11. Morris shot 8-for-10 from the floor in the win, which ties for the third-best single-game shooting performance in school history. She currently ranks 22nd in the BIG EAST in scoring with 12.2 points per game.
FIVE-GAME HOME STAND Seton Hall is in the midst of a five-game home stand starting with Sunday afternoon's game against Mount St. Mary's. The next time the Pirates hit the road will be their second BIG EAST game of the season, at Cincinnati on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
600 AND COUNTING With her 23 points in a win over Lafayette on Nov. 11, senior guard Brittany Morris passed 600 points in her career. She has scored 681 points over her three-plus seasons at Seton Hall, and is averaging 7.7 points per game in 88-career games played.
FAB FRESHMAN Freshman forward Tabatha Richardson-Smith lifted the Pirates to a 57-48 win over Siena on Nov. 28, by pouring in a career-high 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor. She also nailed three three-pointers and tied for the team lead with six rebounds. So far this season Richardson-Smith ranks third on the team in scoring with 6.9 points per game and is shooting 34.3 percent (24-for-70) from the floor, ranking second on the team with eight made three-pointers.
JOHNSON MAKES FIRST-CAREER START Junior Janee Johnson made her first-career start in a Seton Hall uniform in the Pirates' 57-48 win over Siena on Nov. 28. She logged a then season-high 21 minutes against the Saints and finished with four points, five rebounds and two steals.
TOP OFFENSIVE OUTPUT Seton Hall's 57-48 win over Siena on Nov. 28, was its most efficient offensive performance of the season thus far. The Pirates shot a season-high 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the field, and had 14 assists on 22 field goals. Seton Hall was also efficient from downtown, shooting 4-for-8 and out-rebounded the Saints 34-32.
KA-DEIDRE SIMMONS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons was named to the Pepperdine Thanksgiving Tournament All-Tournament team for her roll in leading the Pirates in games against Wyoming and South Dakota. Simmons averaged 13 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the tournament. She scored 14 points against South Dakota and netted 12 points with five assists and no turnovers against Wyoming.
MASEKO SEEING DOUBLE Senior forward Alexandra Maseko recorded the first double-double of her career and the first for Seton Hall this season when she scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against South Dakota on Nov. 24. The 11 points were just one off her career high while it was the first time in her career she reached double figures in rebounds. The 10 rebounds were also an individual game-high for Seton Hall this season.
ALEXIS BROWN HOSTS CAREER DAY Sophomore guard Alexis Brown turned in the best offensive performance of her career when the Pirates faced South Dakota on Nov. 24. She scored a career-high 13 points, scoring in double figures for the first time in her career, and also had a career-high six field goals to go along with six rebounds and two steals.
CALIFORNIA LOVE Once again the Pirates participated in a holiday tournament as this season the team traveled to Malibu, Calif., to compete in the Pepperdine University Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 23-24. Seton Hall faced Wyoming in the opening game and South Dakota in the consolation final.
FINISHING FREE THROWS Seton Hall is doing a great job of converting at the free throw line this season. The Pirates are shooting 73.3 percent (96-of-131) from the stripe, which ranks 3rd in the BIG EAST and 54th in the nation.
FORCING THE ISSUE Seton Hall got its hands in a lot of passing lanes at Temple on Nov. 14, forcing a season-high 26 turnovers against the Owls. It was the most turnovers the Pirates had forced in a single game in nearly two years, since the University of Rhode Island turned the ball over 31 times in a 73-69 Seton Hall win on Dec. 29. 2010.
BROWN MAKES SEASON DEBUT Versatile sophomore guard Alexis Brown made her season debut at Temple on Nov. 14, after missing the first two games of the season and she wasted no time in filling up the stat sheet. Although she finished the game with just four points, she also had seven rebounds, a team-high four assists and a career-high six steals in 25 minutes.
FRESHMAN FOCUS Freshman forward Tabatha Richardson-Smith has stepped in and made an immediate impact on the floor for Seton Hall through the first eight games of the season. She scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting against Lafayette on Nov. 11, and ranks third on the team with 6.9 points per game.
REACHING MILESTONES Seton Hall senior forward Terry Green eclipsed a couple of career milestones in SHU's 69-66 win over NJIT in the season opener in Nov. 9. By knocking down a three-pointer in the second half, she recorded career-triple No. 100, and she also finished the game with nine points, which was good enough to move her over 500-points for her career.
TAKING THE CHARITY Seton Hall shot a stellar 24-for-30 (.800) from the free throw line in the season opening 69-66 victory over NJIT, including an 8-for-8 performance from senior Brittany Morris. It was the most free throw makes and attempts for Seton Hall since it shot 28-for-40 in a 72-69 win over Louisiana Tech on Nov. 24, 2011.
PIRATES HOLD OFF NJIT IN SEASON OPENER Senior guard Brittany Morris scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds to lead Seton Hall to a 69-66 victory over NJIT in the season opener on Nov. 9. The Pirates led by as many as six points in the second half, but found themselves in a tie game with under a minute to play. Senior forward Alexandra Maseko and Morris iced the win by going 3-for-4 at the line down the stretch.
NO SIGNS OF RUST Playing in her first game since March 4, 2011, redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons returned to the court for Seton Hall in its season opener against NJIT and made an immediate difference as the Pirates' floor general. She finished with 12 points, for her seventh-career double-digit scoring game, and also led the team with four assists in 35 minutes.
MAKING A COMEBACK Seton Hall redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons returns to the lineup for Seton Hall after missing all of the 2011-12 season with an injury. The 5-foot-8-inch point guard out of Newark, N.J., averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 assists per game in 2010-11, when she received BIG EAST All-Freshman accolades after appearing in all 30 games for Seton Hall, making 27 starts in the back court.
LONG-RANGE MARKSMEN A pair of Seton Hall seniors, Brittany Morris and Terry Green, are continuing their ascent up the program record books in three-point field goals in three-point attempts. Morris is third in school history with 117 career three-pointers while Green is seventh with 102-career threes. Morris is third all-time with 391 three-point attempts while Green is just behind her in fourth place with 385 long-range attempts.
THREE'S COMPANY Led by Terry Green and Brittany Morris the Pirates were very proficient from three-point range a season ago. Of Seton Hall's best eight single-game three-point shooting performances in school history, a whopping five of them came during the 2011-12 season. The Pirates tied their single-game record with 11 makes against Drexel on Dec. 12, 2011, and made 10 threes at New Hampshire and nine against Marquette, Syracuse and DePaul.
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN Senior Terry Green etched her name in the school record book with an amazing three-point shooting clinic against DePaul last season. She was a perfect 7-for-7 from three-point range, which set a Seton Hall record in addition to being the best performance from three for a BIG EAST player last season.
EARLY SEASON TESTS Head coach Anne Donovan has put together a very challenging non-conference schedule that will provide her team with a number of early season tests as it prepares for the rigors of the BIG EAST Conference. Two of Seton Hall's non-conference opponents, South Carolina, and Michigan, received votes in the preseason Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches Poll, and the Pirates will also travel to Wake Forest in addition to hosting future BIG EAST member Memphis, before opening BIG EAST play on January 5.
WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARENA When Seton Hall faces St. John's University on Saturday, Jan. 12, it will be a truly unique experience for the Pirates as the contest will take place at the World's Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, as a part of a St. John's men's and women's hoops double header.
COACHING ADDITION April Phillips has joined the Seton Hall University coaching staff as the SHU Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Phillips was a four-year letter winner at Xavier University where she helped the Musketeers win three-straight Atlantic 10 championships and was a three-time All-Atlantic 10 honoree. After college she played internationally in Israel, Finland and Belgium.
HOME AND AWAY OPPONENTS Seton Hall's BIG EAST schedule will feature at least one meeting with all 14 of its conference foes but the Pirates will face both USF (Jan. 22 & Feb. 16) and St. John's University (Jan. 12 & March 2) both at Walsh Gymnasium and on the road.
PIRATE SPORTS NETWORK The Pirate Sports Network is back for the 2012-13 season and better than ever. With the addition of multiple cameras, the live broadcasts can now be see in high definition with audio play-by-play and color commentary provided by industry professionals Jon Schaeffer, Joey Wahler and Jason Guerette.
BIG EAST PRESEASON COACHES POLL Seton Hall University was picked to finish in a tie for 13th place with the University of Pittsburgh in the 2012-13 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll. The University of Connecticut received 12 first place votes to claim the top spot in the poll while the University of Notre Dame came in second, receiving the other three first-place tallies.
BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP The 2013 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Championship will take place from Friday-Tuesday, March 8-12, and will return to the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. For the fifth-straight season all 15 BIG EAST teams will be invited to Hartford for the conference tournament.

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