WBB #12 Seed in BIG EAST Tournament
3/5/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Seton Hall concluded the regular season with a 10-19 overall record and a 5-11 mark against BIG EAST competition to capture the No. 12 seed in the conference championship. The Pirates wrapped up the regular season with a signature 60-51 victory over St. John's on Saturday night in South Orange for its first win against the Red Storm since 2007.
The five BIG EAST victories are the most for Seton Hall since it went 9-7 in conference play in 2007 and the 10 overall wins are the most for the Pirates since a 17-14 record during the 2008-09 campaign. By capturing 12th place in the BIG EAST standings Seton Hall earned its highest seed for the conference tournament since it finished ninth in 2007.
Cincinnati earned the No. 13 seed with a 12-17 overall record and a 4-12 mark in the BIG EAST. The Bearcats ended the regular season on a hot streak, winning four of their last six games including victories over Rutgers and Marquette.
Dayeesha Hollins was the only player to average double figures for Cincinnati, scoring a team-high 15.7 points per game, which ranks eighth in the BIG EAST.
Seton Hall is 16-29 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship and the Pirates are 8-12 overall in first round games. Friday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between Seton Hall and Cincinnati at the BIG EAST Tournament.
Seton Hall picked up a 64-56 victory over Cincinnati when the two teams met back on Jan. 9, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Pirates had three players score in double figures in the win as they were led by redshirt-sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.), who finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, senior Brittany Morris (Raleigh, N.C.), scoring 16 points behind three three-pointers, and senior Alexandra Maseko (Harare, Zimbabwe) who finished with 10 points and five boards.
Hollins paced the Bearcats in the first meeting of the season, tallying a game-high 23 points on 6-for-9 three-point shooting; she hit her first five three-point attempts of the second half and six of her 27 three-point field goals this season against the Pirates during the team's first meeting.
The winner of the Seton Hall-Cincinnati first round matchup will advance to face No. 5 seed St. John's in the second round on Saturday, March 9, at 12 p.m., with No. 4 seed Louisville awaiting the winner of that game in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals on Sunday, March 10, at 12 p.m.
All session tickets for the 2013 BIG EAST Championship are available for $99 and can be purchased at www.shupirates.com/tickets or by contacting the Seton Hall Athletic Ticket Office at 973-275-HALL (4255) or tickets@shu.edu.
