Seton Hall University
Wofford
Green Leads Pirates Past Wofford
12/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Seton Hall (5-8) had led since the opening whistle and was in front by as many as nine points on several occasions in the first and second half, but Wofford went on an 11-1 run midway through the second period to take its first and only lead of the game, 42-41, on a Morgan Wrightson layup with 8:25 to play.
Two possessions later SHU's leading scorer Brittany Morris (Raleigh, N.C.) hit her only field goal of the game, and it was a big one, a three pointer from the corner that snapped the Wofford run and put the Pirates back in front by two, 44-42.
Morris' triple sparked what turned into an 11-0 Seton Hall run as the Pirates turned a one-point deficit into a 10-point lead in just 1:28. Redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) kept the offense on track with lay-ups on back-to-back possessions, the second coming in acrobatic fashion as she took a hard foul underneath the rim, sinking the ensuing free throw to make it 49-42.
With less than six minutes to play Green came up with a three-pointer, her fourth of the game, to give the Pirates their largest lead of the game, 52-42, and Seton Hall led by as many as 11 points, 54-53, when junior Brittany Webb (New York, N.Y.) came up with an offensive board and a layup with 3:53 remaining.
Wofford (5-5) fought back, using a 9-0 run to cut Seton Hall's lead down to just two points on a Daniella Motley layup with 90 seconds remaining. Senior forward Alexandra Maseko (Harare, Zimbabwe) sealed the game for the Pirates, grabbing her eighth offensive rebound of the game and layup with just a minute to play to put her team back up by four.
Maseko finished with her second double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds; her eight offensive boards were an SHU season-high. The Pirates finished with a 42-39 edge on the glass and have now outrebounded their last five opponents.
Green's 16 points were a season-high for the senior long-range expert, who made four three pointers on the day and now ranks fourth in program history with 113 in her career. Simmons scored in double figures for the fifth-straight game, netting 11 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
The Pirates took control early in the game behind strong free throw shooting and stellar defensive play. Seton Hall hit its first seven shots from the stripe and forced eight Wofford turnovers scoring nine points off those extra opportunities to grab a 15-6 lead on a Simmons bucket just 8:41 into the game.
Wofford made a run, scoring eight straight points to pull within one, 19-18, off a Jordan Frazier free throw with six minutes remaining in the opening period, but sophomore Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) snapped that run with a spin move through the paint and a short jumper to put the Pirates back up by three.
Green scored four points down the stretch to help the Pirates take a 27-20 lead into the half. Seton Hall outscored Wofford 17-4 in points off turnovers in the opening period, taking the ball away 12 times in 20 minutes.
Seton Hall maintained a consistent lead of six to nine points through the first eight minutes of the second half before Wofford made its big run to briefly take the lead. Erin Frost twice came up with a three-pointer to prevent Seton Hall from stretching its lead to double figures early in the second half, and finished the game with nine points on 3-of-6 long range shooting.
Motley finished with a double-double scoring 15 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds and Wrightson also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Seton Hall returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 5, as it hosts the University of Pittsburgh in its BIG EAST opener at Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, N.J. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
