Seton Hall University
Xavier
Hall Picks up BIG EAST win at Xavier, 72-62
1/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2014
CINCINNATI, OHIO - The Seton Hall University women's basketball team limited Xavier to just one field goal over the final 12 minutes as the Pirates gradually pulled away for a 72-62 BIG EAST road victory on Tuesday night at the Cintas Center.
Xavier was in the midst of a 12-3 run as Shatyra Hawkes knocked down her third 3-pointer of the game to tie the score 52-52 with just over 12 minutes remaining, tying the Musketeers' season-high of 11 made 3-point field goals in the process. But that bucket from long range would spell the end of Xavier's offensive success.
Seton Hall (12-5, 3-3) clamped down defensively, limiting the Musketeers to just 1-for-8 shooting over the final 12 minutes, while force seven turnovers. Redshirt sophomore Bra'Shey Ali (Plainfield, N.J.) scored in the paint to put the Pirates back in front 55-54 and field goals from junior Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) and redshirt junior Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) allowed the Hall to stretch its lead back up to five points.
Xavier (8-11, 3-4) stayed in the game with free throw shooting but down the stretch it was finally Seton Hall finding clutch 3-point shooting when they needed it, icing the win with a pair of buckets from downtown.
The first came off the hand of sophomore Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas). The BIG EAST's second-leading scorer finished with a game high 23 points and drained four 3-pointers, none bigger than her trey at 3:56 that kept the SHU lead at five.
The margin was still at five three minutes later when the Pirates worked on draining the clock. With the shot clock nearing expiration the ball worked its way out to senior forward Janee Johnson (Matthews, N.C.) in the left corner, and she let a three fly as the buzzer sounded, all but clinching a Seton Hall victory with her first-career 3-pointer.
Four Pirates finished in double figures in the win, including Johnson who scored 13 points with eight rebounds, shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Simmons scored 17 points and dropped nine dimes, which moved her into a tie for ninth place in school history with 299 assists in her career.
Ali rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, and she also grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. She has now led the team in rebounding in four-straight games, averaging 13.8 boards per game over that stretch.
The first half was a roller coaster of momentum swings in both directions, with both teams putting together runs of at least eight unanswered points, the Pirates doing so on two occasions. Seton Hall led 40-36 at the break thanks to a 9-0 run to close the half, with Xavier missing its final six shots from the field, including three 3-pointers after starting 8-for-11 from downtown, tying its total 3-point total from its 75-52 win over Providence on Saturday.
Hawkes drained threes on back-to-back possessions to put the Musketeers up 36-31 as the first half wound down to the three minute mark, only to see Richardson-Smith answer right back with a triple of her own, three of her 13 first half points, and a play that sparked a 9-0 SHU run to close out the period.
The Pirates really started crashing the boards as well. At the under four minute timeout Seton Hall was being outrebounded 14-12, but Seton Hall grabbed nine of its 21 first half rebounds over the final three minutes of action, finishing with a pair of field goals on second chance opportunities.
Earlier in the period it was Simmons keeping Seton Hall within striking distance as the Xavier onslaught from the outside continued. The Musketeers hit 3-pointers on three of four possessions in a span of 2:15, taking its largest lead of six points, 33-27, with just over five minutes remaining. Simmons was the offensive constant for Seton Hall, scoring three-straight buckets for the Pirates to keep Xavier from moving in front by more than two possessions.
Ashley Wanninger led Xavier with 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers and shooting 5-for-6 from the line. The Musketeers finished the game shooting 37.3 percent from the field, as Seton Hall improved to 9-0 when holding an opponent under 40 percent shooting.
Seton Hall's 12 victories are the most in a season since it went 17-14 in 2008-09, which was also the last time the Pirates recorded two BIG EAST road wins in the same season.
The Pirates will look for their third-straight conference road victory on Saturday, Jan. 25, when they head up to Providence, R.I., to take on the Friars. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
