Seton Hall University
South Carolina
Pirates Fall to #24 South Carolina
12/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Seton Hall (3-5) turned in another strong defensive effort against the Gamecocks, limiting them to just 35.8 percent (19-for-53) shooting from the field, and South Carolina only recorded assists on five of its field goals.
But South Carolina (9-0) entered the game with a +18.1 rebounding margin and accounted for the difference in the game by holding a 13-2 edge in second chance scoring and a 30-22 differential in the paint.
Seton Hall jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead by get baskets from senior Alexandra Maseko (Harare, Zimbabwe) and sophomore Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) on its first two possessions and the Pirates scored eight of their first 10 points in the paint, on the way to a 10-7 lead six minutes into the game.
Senior forward Terry Green (Brentwood, N.Y.) nailed a three-pointer five minutes later to give Seton Hall a five-point advantage, and the Pirates largest lead of the game when redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) intercepted a Tiffany Mitchell pass at midcourt and sprinted down the floor for an uncontested layup at the other end to make it 22-16 in favor of the home team.
The 24th-ranked Gamecocks came back by putting together an 8-0 run over the final five minutes of the opening period, getting six of those points on second chance opportunities. South Carolina's Aleighsa Welch grabbed an offensive board and put it up and in with just one second before the break, and the Gamecocks led 24-22 after the opening period.
South Carolina made just 10 field goals and shot 32.3 percent from the floor in the first half, but thanks to 12 offensive rebounds the Gamecocks attempted 10 more shots to help them stay in the game.
A Mitchell bucket on the fast break allowed South Carolina to push its lead to 10 points, 35-25, with 12:57 remaining in the game. Seton hall responded with a 10-5 run over the next five minutes to cut its deficit down to five points with 8:02 left to play.
Simmons fed Maseko in the low post and the senior forward made the basket to pull the Pirates within two possessions, 30-36, before South Carolina responded with an Ieasia Walker three on the other end.
Morris answered the South Carolina triple with a long-range field goal of her own just 14 seconds later, and it was Morris once again, slicing through the lane for a layup to cut the Gamecock lead to just five, 40-35.
However, that was as close as Seton Hall would get down the stretch and South Carolina held on for the 55-42 win.
Morris finished with a team-high 10 points to record her sixth double-figure scoring game of the season, and it also marked the sixth time this year she has lead the Pirates in scoring.
Maseko finished with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and junior Janee Johnson (Matthews, N.C.) scored six points, pulled down a career-high nine boards and blocked two shots in 35 minutes of action. Simmons matched her career-high with five assists, also scoring seven points and coming away with four steals.
Seton Hall returns to action next weekend when the Pirates travel to Winston Salem, N.C., to face Wake Forest University and Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
