Women's Hoops Welcomes Rider on Sunday Afternoon
11/9/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2013
SETON HALL (1-0) vs. RIDER (0-1)
South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) • Sunday, Nov. 10 • 2:00 PM
Webcast: www.shupirates.com • Radio: 89.5 WSOU FM (Play-by-play: Clayton Collier; Color: Chris Paizis)
The Seton Hall women's basketball team continues its three game home stand to start the season on Sunday, Nov. 10, when it welcomes Rider University for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The Pirates will be looking for their third-straight 2-0 start to a season. Seton Hall's three-straight home games on the front end of the schedule are the most at the Hall since it played four in a row on its home floor in 2008.
SETON HALL STATUS
Seton Hall is coming off a 63-46 victory over Longwood in its season opener on Friday night. A balanced offensive attack saw six Pirates score at least nine points in the win. Redshirt Ka-Deidre Simmons paced the Hall with 14 points and seven assists while redshirt sophomore Bra'Shey Ali scored eight points and pulled down a team-high 15 boards against the Lancers. SHU finished with a school-record 64 rebounds in the win and held an astounding +28 rebounds differential.
RIDER STATUS
A late 18-4 run was not enough to erase a 16-point deficit and the Rider Broncs lost at Lafayette, 67-62, in its season opener on Friday night. Senior MyNeshia McKenzie scored 24 points against Lafayette and became the 19th member of Rider's 1,000-point club in the process. Emily Fazzini (13) and Mikal Johnson also scored in double figures for the Broncs in the opener. McKenzie was named to the MAAC Women's Basketball Preseason First Team.
SETON HALL VS. THE MAAC
Seton Hall has had a good amount of success playing teams from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference over the years, posting an 89-12 overall record against MAAC foes, good for a .881 winning percentage. First year Seton Hall head coach Anthony Bozzella is very familiar with Rider, having coached in the MAAC at Iona College for 11 seasons prior to taking over the Pirates' program. Seton Hall's last game against a school from the MAAC came last season when it defeated Siena, 57-48, at Walsh Gym on Nov. 28.
REBOUND RECORD FALLS IN OPENER
Seton Hall pulled in 64 rebounds in its season opening win over Longwood representing the highest single-game rebound total in school history. The Pirates broke the old school record of 63 boards that stood for more than 20 years, set against Niagara on Nov. 24, 1990. It was just the fifth time in program history the Hall had 60 or more rebounds in a single game.
CRASHING THE BOARDS
Redshirt sophomore Bra'Shey Ali made a huge impact in her Seton Hall debut pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds in the victory over Longwood. The 15 boards for Ali were the most for a Seton Hall player since Tajay Ashmeade grabbed 21 rebounds against William & Mary on Dec. 21, 2011. With Ali leading the way the Pirates finished the Longwood game with a school-record 64 team rebounds.
FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Redshirt junior Ka-Deidre Simmons kept a couple of personal streaks alive with her 14 point, seven assist season-opening win over Longwood. Dating back to last season Simmons has now led the Pirates in scoring in five-straight games and dished out the most assists for Seton Hall in six-straight contests. Simmons has 29 games scoring in double figures in her career.
LONG AWAITED DEBUT
Redshirt forward Sidney Cook finally made her collegiate debut when the Pirates hosted Longwood on Friday night. Cook narrowly missed out on recording a double-double in her first collegiate contest scoring nine points to go along with nine rebounds. She 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.
SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Head coach Anthony Bozzella brought six players off the bench in the season opener over Longwood but freshman Tara Inman had the greatest offensive impact. In her first collegiate action Inman scored nine points and dished out two assists, shooting 3-for-5 from the field while knocking down both of Seton Hall's 3-point field goals in the win.
PAINT IT BLUE & WHITE
Seton Hall scored a bulk of its points in the season opening win over Longwood in the paint, outscoring the Lancers 36-10 on the interior. The 36 points in the paint were the most for Seton Hal since scoring 38 on the inside in win over New Orleans last season.
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.
