Pirates Host Longwood in 2013-14 Season Opener
11/7/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 7, 2013
SETON HALL (0-0) vs. LONGWOOD (0-0)
South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) • Friday, Nov. 8 • 7:00 PM
Webcast: www.shupirates.com • Radio: 89.5 WSOU FM (Play-by-play: Vincent Paolella; Color: David Heim)
A new era for Seton Hall University women's basketball will get underway when the Pirates welcome the Longwood University Lances to Walsh Gymnasium for the 2013-14 season opener on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m. It will be the first game on the sideline for head coach Anthony Bozzella, a 1989 graduate of Seton Hall who this past March was named just the fourth head coach in Seton Hall women's basketball history.
SETON HALL STATUS
Seton Hall returns three starters and 11 total letterwinners from last season, including a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection in redshirt junior point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons, who average 11.5 points and 3.9 assists per game a year ago. The Pirates will also see a handful of new faces prepared to make a big impact in redshirt freshman Sidney Cook and redshirt sophomore Bra'Shey Ali. Cook missed all of 2012-13 due to injury while Ali transfered to Seton Hall last year after playing one season for the University of Kentucky in 2010-11.
LONGWOOD STATUS
Entering its second season in the Big South Conference, Longwood is a young team that features just a pair of upperclassmen. The Lancers are coming of a 14-19 campaign a year ago that saw them make a postseason run to the Big South title game. Longwood was picked to finish sixth in the Big South Preseason Coaches Poll and sophomore guard Daeisha Brown was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team after averaging 12.2 ppg as a freshman.
ALL-TIME IN HOME OPENERS
Seton Hall boasts an all-time record of 28-7 in its first home game of a new season. Last year the Pirates defeated NJIT, 69-66, in its first home game of the season. Seton Hall has won six of its last seven home openers dating back to the 2006-07 season.
ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS
The Pirates record in season-opening contests is nearly identical to their mark in home openers, with Seton Hall holding a 30-10 all-time mark in season-opening tilts. Last year's 69-66 win over NJIT was not only the home opener, but also the season opener for Seton Hall. The Hall has started a new campaign with a win in five of the last six seasons overall.
SETON HALL VS. THE BIG SOUTH
Friday night's season opener against Longwood will mark just the second time Seton Hall will face a current member of the Big South Conference. The Pirates are 1-0 all-time against Big South programs, defeating Campbell, 59-41, on Dec. 29, 2004 in Columbia, S.C. SHU could potentially face its second Big South foe of the season when the Pirates welcome Liberty to South Orange for the SHU Thanksgiving Classic tournament.
SIMMONS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST
Redshirt junior point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons was one of 10 players selected for the 2013-14 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Simmons earns preseason All-Conference accolades for the first time in her career. Last season Simmons started in all 31 games at point guard for the Hall, ranking second on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) while averaging 3.9 assists per game, which ranked 10th in the BIG EAST. She also finished with a team-high 63 steals, the 10th-highest single-season total in program history.
LONG AWAITED DEBUT
Redshirt forward Sidney Cook will finally make her collegiate debut when the Pirates face Longwood on Friday night. Cook missed all of what should have been her freshman season in 2012-13 due to injury. The North Carolina Native was ranked as the No. 17 forward and No. 84 overall prospect by ESPN Hoop Gurlz coming out of high school in 2012. She was an AP All-State selection following her senior season and participated in the USA Basketball U17 Team Trials in 2010.
ANOTHER NEW FAMILIAR FACE
Also suiting up for Seton Hall for the first time on Friday night is redshirt-sophomore forward Bra'Shey Ali. A native of Plainfield, N.J., and a product of Nazareth (N.Y.) High School, Ali played one season at Kentucky in 2011-12 before transferring to the Hall. She was forced to sit out all of last season due to NCAA transfer rules. She was ranked as the No. 19 forward in the Class of 2011.
SETON HALL CLASS OF 2017
Head coach Anthony Bozzella signed three student-athletes to join the Pirates as members of the Class of 2017.
- Guard/forward Kathleen Egan hails from Aberdeen, N.J., where she attended St. John Vianney High School. Egan averaged 12.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.6 steals per season as a junior, when she was named Second-Team All Shore and Second-Team All-Monmouth County.
- Sharp shooting guard Tara Inman is a native of Holmdel, N.J., and is a product of Holmdel High School. Inman graduated from Holmdel as the school's all-time boys or girls leading scorer with 1,675 points and averaged 19.6 ppg during her prep career.
- Joining the Pirates all the way from Schwäbisch Hall, Germany, is guard/forward Teresa Kucera. Kucera had experience with several competitive club teams in Germany, was a member of the German U16 National Team and was nominated to compete for the German National Women's U20 team in 2012-13.
MOSLEY TRANSFERS TO SETON HALL
Another new face on the Pirates' roster this season is guard Jordan Mosley. A native of Orlando, Fla., Mosley played her first two collegiate seasons at La Salle University. Mosley saw extensive playing time during her two years with the Explorers, appearing in all 31 games as a freshman and starting 24 times during her sophomore season. She averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game for La Salle in 2012-13.
