Pirates Battle SJU in the Garden

SETON HALL (7-8, 2-0) at ST. JOHN'S (7-6, 1-0) New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden) Saturday, Jan. 12 • 1:30 PM Radio: 89.5 WSOU FM (Play-by-play: Vincent Coughlin; Color: Leonard Nuciforo)
ABOUT THE MATCHUP Seton Hall will but its three-game winning streak on the line when it faces BIG EAST rival St. John's University on Saturday, Jan. 12, at Madison Square Garden. The Red Storm lead the all-time series between the two teams, 36-25, and have won nine straight games against the Pirates. The game will be the first-ever trip to Madison Square Garden for the Seton Hall women's basketball program.
SETON HALL STATUS Seton Hall won its third-straight game and got off to a 2-0 start in BIG EAST play with a 64-56 win at Cincinnati on Jan. 9. Redshirt-sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons led three players in double figures with 18 points, while senior Brittany Morris finished with 16. The Pirates nailed six three pointers and held a 32-27 edge on the glass in the win. The Pirates also shot 14-for-17 from the foul line.
ST. JOHN'S STATUS St. John's is 2-3 in its last five games but jumped out to a good start in conference play with a 48-44 victory at Rutgers in its BIG EAST opener on Jan. 6. The Red Storm get it done in the paint and are led by Shenneika Smith (16.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.8 bpg). St. John's has hit just 32 three pointers all year but is blocking 6.6 shots per game.
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. It will be the first time in program history the Pirates will play at game at Madison Square Garden.
MASEKO NAMED TO HONOR ROLL Senior forward Alexandra Maseko was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Jan. 7 after recording a double-double with a career-high 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the Pirates' BIG EAST opening win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 5. It marked the first time in her career Maseko earned conference weekly accolades and the first time this season Seton Hall has landed a player on the BIG EAST Honor Roll.
THAT'S A GOOD START The Seton Hall women's basketball team won its BIG EAST home and away openers for the first time since the 2007-08 season, which was also the last time the Pirates got off to a 2-0 start in conference play.
PICKING UP ASSISTS Redshirt-sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons has been doing a lot of the scoring for Seton Hall during its three-game winning streak, averaging 15 points per game over the past three games. That has meant more opportunities for senior Brittany Morris to find teammates for open looks, as the sharp-shooting senior has now led the Pirates in assists in each of the last three games. She is averaging 4.3 assists per game over that stretch.
BIG ROAD WIN Seton Hall's 64-56 victory at Cincinnati on Jan. 9 was its first BIG EAST road win since a 51-44 decision at Cincinnati on Feb. 12, 2011. It was also the Pirates' largest margin of victory in a road BIG EAST contest since a 55-47 win at West Virginia on Feb. 4, 2009.
STRONGEST HALF OF THE YEAR It was strong second-half shooting that helped the Pirates hold off Cincinnati and pick up a 64-56 win over the Bearcats on Jan. 9. Seton Hall shot 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) from the field in the second half of that game, the best single-half field goal percentage of the season for the Pirates.
PIRATES PASS BIG EAST WIN TOTAL With its 64-56 victory over Cincinnati on Jan. 9, Seton Hall improved to 2-0 in the BIG EAST and eclipsed its conference win total from each of the last three seasons in the process. The Pirates had only garnered one BIG EAST regular season win dating back to the 2009-10 season.
SIMMONS EXTENDS HOT STREAK Redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons has scored in double figures in seven-straight games and is averaging 15.1 points and 5.0 assists per game over that stretch. She now ranks 28th in the BIG EAST with 11.1 points per game, 12th with 3.5 assists per game and 10th with 33.7 minutes played per game.
THREE-STRAIGHT FOR MASEKO Finishing with 10 points in the Pirates' 64-56 win at Cincinnati on Jan. 9, senior Alexandra Maseko has now scored in double figures in three-straight games. With a career-high 16 points in addition to 10 rebounds in Seton Hall's 69-56 win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 5, Maseko recorded a double-double in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. She also had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the Pirate's 57-53 victory over Wofford on Dec. 30. Maseko leads Seton Hall with three double-doubles so far this season.
TREND WATCH: TURNOVERS So far this season there has been one trend that has stood out in every one of Seton Hall's victories, and that is the turnover battle. Seton Hall has created more turnovers than its opponent in all seven of its wins so far this year, boasting a 7-2 record in those games.
LEADING AT THE HALF Getting off to a good start has been important for the Pirates' ability to come away with a win as Seton Hall is 6-1 when taking a lead into the half but just 1-7 when it trails after 20 minutes of action.
PIRATES WIN BIG EAST OPENER Seton Hall picked up a 69-56 victory over the University of Pittsburgh in its BIG EAST opener on Jan. 5, marking the first time the Pirates have gotten off to a 1-0 start in conference play since a 54-43 win against Cincinnati on Jan. 5, 2008.
SIMMONS BIG ON THE GLASS Redshirt-sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons set a new career-high with eight rebounds in the Pirates' win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 5. She finished the game with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals.
SIDNEY COOK TO REDSHIRT 2012-13 SEASON Seton Hall's dynamic freshman front court player Sidney Cook will miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season due to injury and will apply for a medical redshirt. Cook, who hails from Parkton, N.C., where she attended South View High School, was injured during the first week of practice in October and has not seen action this season.
PIRATES LIMIT PITTSBURGH FROM THREE Seton Hall got out and defended the perimeter in its 69-56 win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 5, limiting the Panthers to just 9.1 percent shooting (1-for-11) from long distance, the lowest single-game three-point shooting percentage against the Pirates this season.
ANNE DONOVAN ACCEPTS HEAD COACHING JOB WITH CONNECTICUT SUN Head women's basketball coach Anne Donovan will be leaving her post at Seton Hall to assume the same position with the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA. Donovan, who is in her third season with the Pirates, will coach the team for the remainder of the 2012-13 season before taking on her full-time role with the Sun at the conclusion of the year. Seton Hall will launch a national search for a new head women's basketball coach at the conclusion of the year.
SETON HALL FINDS ITS LONG-RANGE SHOOTING TOUCH Seton Hall did not make more than four three-pointers in any game prior to its 6-for-19 long-range shooting performance against Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 16. Now the Pirates have hit at least five three-pointers in six-straight games, including a 9-for-16 performance against New Orleans on Dec. 19. Over the past six games the Pirates are shooting 39.6 percent (36-for-91) from three, well above the team's season average of 28.7 percent.
MASEKO TAKES OVER TEAM REBOUNDING LEAD With her career-high 11 rebounds against Wofford on Dec. 30, senior forward Alexandra Maseko took the lead for Seton Hall in rebounds per game with 6.3. Over the past seven games, Maseko has been performing better than her season average with 7.9 rebounds per game.
REVERSIBLE GLASS Through the first eight games of the season Seton Hall faced a rebounding deficit as the Pirates were being outrebounded by a margin of five boards per game. Seton Hall has reversed that trend, outrebounding each of its last seven opponents by an average of 7.7 rebounds per game, including a season-best +18 rebounding margin (43-25) against Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 16. The Pirates now have a positive 1.2 edge in rebounds per game.
MORRIS GOES FOR 20 AGAIN Senior guard Brittany Morris has the two highest scoring games of the season for Seton Hall, netting a career-high 23 points against Lafayette on Nov. 11, and pouring in 22 points against Memphis on Dec. 22. She made a season-high four three-point field goals and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line in accounting for her 22 points against Memphis and leads Seton Hall with 12.9 points per game this season.
FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE Redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons enjoyed one of the most productive games of her career in SHU's 82-35 win over New Orleans on Dec. 19, and she finished with her first double-double in a Pirates' uniform. She scored 12 points and dished out a career-high 10 assists in 35 minutes.
SINGLE-GAME SUPERLATIVES With its 47-point victory over New Orleans on Dec. 19 the Pirates set a number of new single-game high marks for the 2012-13 season: • The Pirates scored a season-high 82 points • SHU shot a season-best 51.6 percent (33-for-64) from the field • The 33 field goals made as also a season-high • Seton Hall made a season-high nine three pointers and shot a 2012-13 best 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from three-point range • The Pirates had a season-high 26 assists on their 33 made field goals
A WHOLE LOT OF ASSISTS Led by redshirt sophomore point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons' career-high 10 assists, Seton Hall racked up 26 total assists, the highest team assist output this season and the seventh-highest in a single game in program history. It was the first time the Pirates had 10 assists in a game since a 76-52 win over Arkansas State on Nov. 21, 2009, and the most the team had total since dishing out 27 assists against Providence College on Feb. 24, 1998.
ONE BIG WIN Seton Hall defeated the University of New Orleans, 82-35, on Dec. 19, in what was the largest margin of victory for Seton Hall since a 52-point, 95-43, win over Norfolk State on Dec. 31, 2008.
TERRY GREEN FOR THREE! Senior Terry Green had her first breakout game offensively for Seton Hall this season when she came off the bench to score 15 points on 5-of-6 long-range shooting in the Pirates' 82-35 win over New Orleans on Dec. 19. Green, who ranks fourth in program history with 117 three-point buckets in her career had made just five three-pointers all season prior to the game against New Orleans when she managed to double that amount.
MORRIS ECLIPSES 700-CAREER POINTS With her 13 points in a win over New Orleans on Dec. 19, senior guard Brittany Morris passed 700 points in her career. She has scored 765 points over her three-plus seasons at Seton Hall, and is averaging 8.1 points per game in 94-career games played. This season she leads the Pirates with 12.9 points per game, which ranks 22nd in the BIG EAST.
GLASS CLEANER Sophomore guard Alexis Brown set a new career-high and 2012-13 Seton Hall season-high with 12 rebounds against Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 16. It was the first double-digit rebound game of her career and the first time this season an SHU player finished with 12 rebounds.
FIRST-CAREER START FOR WEBB Junior center Brittany Webb made the first start of her career when the Pirates faced Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 16. She finished the game with two points and three rebounds in 10 minutes of action against the Mountaineers.
MORRIS AMONG THE NATION'S LEADER 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 87.3 percent (48-for-55) from the free throw line which ranks first in the BIG EAST Conference and 25th in the country.
MASEKO INTERVIEWS AS RHODES SCHOLAR FINALIST Senior forward Alexandra Maseko, a political science major with a 3.824 cumulative GPA, was chosen as one of seven finalists 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, but unfortunately she was not one of just two selections from Zimbabwe for the prestigious international grant.
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.
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.
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.
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 73.4 percent (160-of-218) from the stripe, which ranks 4th in the BIG EAST and 50th 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.
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.
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.
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 132 career three-pointers while Green is fourth with 117-career threes. Morris is second all-time with 427 three-point attempts while Green is just behind her in third place with 417 long-range attempts.
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.
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 b ack 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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