Seton Hall University
Butler
Women's Basketball Falls to Butler, 75-69
1/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2014
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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Butler University shot 70.8 percent from the field and 4-for-8 from 3-point range in the second half to hand the Seton Hall University women's basketball team a 75-69 setback in BIG EAST action on Saturday afternoon in Walsh Gymnasium.
Seton Hall (9-4, 0-2) held a 35-24 lead over the Bulldogs at the half in the first-ever meeting between the two new conference foes thanks to 12 points off three 3-pointers from BIG EAST leading scorer Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) and a six point, six assist effort from redshirt junior point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.).
However, Butler (7-7, 2-1) scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half and opened the period on a 22-10 run overall to take a 46-45 lead on a Taylor Schippers 3-pointer at 12:34, one of her three long-range buckets in the game. Seton Hall withstood the Bulldogs' initial charge, finding points on three-straight possession to stretch its advantage back to eight points, 43-35, on a Richardson-Smith layup off a steal, but Butler would score 12 unanswered, capped off by a Daress MClung triple at 11:34.
Butler maintained a several possession lead for much of the rest of the game before the Pirates mounted a late run. Facing an eight-point deficit, Simmons found junior Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) for a short jumper from the left side with 2:48 to play and freshman Sidney Cook (Parkton, N.C.) scored an offensive put back to cut the lead down to four for the first time since the seven minute mark.
With fewer than two minutes to play the Pirates turned the ball over two times, once after grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds to keep a possession alive and Seton Hall was unable to pull any closer than four points down the stretch.
Richardson-Smith led Seton Hall with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and a 4-for-7 effort from 3-point range, reaching the 20-point plateau for the seventh time this season. Simmons was 6-for-6 at the line and finished with 14 points and a game-high eight assists. For Simmons it was a third-straight game without committing a turnover and she also moved past Melissa Langelier (2001-04) for 13th place in assists in school history with 270 in her career.
Senior Janee Johnson (Matthews, N.C.) scored in double figures for a second-straight game for the first time in her career, netting 11 points with five rebounds, and Brown rounded out the Pirates' double-digit performers with 12 points, also grabbing five rebounds with three assists and a pair of steals.
Stout defense early in the game allowed Seton Hall to survive a slow start offensively, as the Pirates opened the game missing 12 of their first 13 shots and shooting 4-for-22 overall. From there the team closed out the half nailing 10 of its final 18 field goals, with Richardson-Smith hitting a three on three-straight possessions and Brown creating a turnover with a fast break finish to account for an 11-0 run over just 1:09.
Butler made just three field goals over the final seven minutes of the opening half allowing Seton Hall to hold onto its 11-point cushion heading into the intermission. The Bulldogs turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, leading to 15 Seton Hall points, and Butler was 1-for-8 from 3-point range, before heating up from downtown in the second.
Seton Hall will open a two-game BIG EAST road trip on Wednesday, Jan. 8, when it heads to Milwaukee, Wis., to face Marquette University. Tipoff in the Al McGuire Center is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET).
