WBB Gets Back to Work Against NJIT Friday Night
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NR/RV SETON HALL (10-1) vs. NJIT (5-7)
South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) • Friday, Dec. 19 • 7:00 PM
Broadcast: Pirate Sports Network (Play-by-play: Jon Schaeffer)
Radio: WSOU 89.5 FM (Play-by-play: Matt Valentine; Color: Sean St. Jacques)
Seton Hall Game Notes 
| NJIT Game Notes | Live Video |
The Seton Hall University women's basketball team will play its second game in as many nights when it hosts the NJIT Highlanders on Friday in Walsh Gym at 7 p.m. The Pirates are coming off a 79-47 win over Fairfield on Thursday, while NJIT has not played since Sunday, when it lost at St. John's, 66-42.
Friday night's game represents an opportunity for the Pirates to record a double-digit winning streak for only the fourth time in program history, and match their longest stretch of consecutive wins in nearly two decades, since a 10-game winning streak during the 1994-95 season.
Seton Hall boasts an unblemished record in Walsh Gym this season at 7-0, and The Hall has won 12-straight games at home dating back to last season, the second-longest home winning streak in school history, trailing only a 20-game stretch that spanned 1993-95.
While playing back-to-back games is a concern because of fatigue, head coach Anthony Bozzella was able to limit the minutes his starters logged in the 32-point win over Fairfield, with no Pirate starter seeing more than 28 minutes on the court.
Tabatha Richardson-Smith, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, has led the Pirates in scoring in back-to-back games, netting 19 points while hitting four 3-pointers on Thursday night. Daisha Simmons extended her double-digit scoring streak to 10-straight games and Bra'Shey Ali continued to churn out double-digit scoring efforts with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Seton Hall saw its string of eight-straight games with double-digit steals come to an end against Fairfield, but the Pirates made up for it with a dominant performance on the glass and in the paint. SHU outrebounded the Stags 47-34, the largest rebounding margin of the year for The Hall, and the Pirates scored 40 points in the paint, shooting 52.4 percent (33-of-63) from the floor.
Against NJIT, Seton Hall will look to develop some consistency on the glass, an area it has struggled throughout the season. The Highlanders averaged just 37.6 rebounds per game, leaving the Pirates with an opportunity to win the rebound battle in back-to-back games for just the second time this year.
The Highlanders have lost three in a row after starting out 5-4 early in the season. Seton Hall will be tasked with neutralizing three players that all average between 10 and 11 points per game. Sophomore Leah Horton leads the way at 10.7 ppg, and also paces NJIT with 7.7 rebounds per game.
Alyssa Albanese (10.3 ppg) and Alana Dudley (10.1 ppg) round out the Highlanders' double figure scorers and represent NJIT's greatest threats from beyond the arc, accounting for 26 of the team's 50 3-point field goals.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Seton Hall has won nine games in a row for the first time since the 1994-95 season and is coming off a 79-47 win over Fairfield on Thursday night. The Pirates have won 12-straight in Walsh Gym dating back to last season.
- Junior guard Tabatha Richardson-Smith led SHU in scoring for a second-straight game, scoring 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting with four 3-pointers in the win over the Stags. The Pirates had four players score in double figures.
- With games on back-to-back days it was important for the Pirates to limit the starter's minutes, and no SHU starter played more than 28 minutes in last night's win.
NJIT STATUS
- NJIT enters Friday night's game with a 5-7 overall record, most recently losing at St. John's, 66-42, last Sunday. The Highlanders, who have lost three straight for the first time this season, are in the midst of a five-game road swing.
- Three starters average double figures for NJIT, led by sophomore Leah Horton (10.7 ppg), who also leads the team in rebounding with 7.7 per contest.
- NJIT is allowing just 60.1 ppg, but points have been hard to come by for the Highlanders, which have failed to reach 50 in three-straight games.
LAST TIME VS. NJIT
- Seton Hall and NJIT have met just twice, and the Pirates won last year's meeting in South Orange, 74-48.
- Three players scored in double figures for Seton Hall in that win, with Tabatha Richardson-Smith hitting four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 21 points.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons finished with 14 points, shooting 8-for-8 at the line, with six assists and four steals.
- Seton Hall limited the Highlanders to just 28.3 percent shooting from the field and forced 29 turnovers. NJIT did shoot well from 3-point range in that game, hitting eight shots from long-range for a shooting percentage of .364.
LONGEST WINNING STREAK IN TWO DECADES
- With its 79-47 victory over Fairfield on Dec. 18, Seton Hall ran its current winning streak to nine games in a row, the longest for The Hall since a 10-game winning streak during the 1994-95 season.
- Against NJIT, Seton Hall will be looking to win its 10th straight for the first time since that stretch 20 years ago, which will match the third-longest winning streak in program history.
- The longest winning streak in Seton Hall women's basketball history is 12 games, accomplished twice, most recently during the 1980-81 season.
PIRATES PLAYING PRETTY WELL IN WALSH
- The Pirates also boast a pretty healthy home winning streak, taking 12 in a row in Walsh Gym dating back to last season.
- That 12-game home winning streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only the 20-game home winning streak that spanned from 1993-95.
- It is the second 10-plus game home winning streak for The Hall since Tony Bozzella took over the program. Under Bozzella, the Pirates are 22-5 at home, including a 7-0 mark this season.
PIRATES RECORD 600TH WIN
- The Pirates' 79-47 win over Fairfield on Dec. 18 was No. 600 in Seton Hall women's basketball history.
- Seton Hall has been playing women's basketball since 1973-74, and boasts and all-time record of 600-568.
- Head coach Anthony Bozzella is 30-15 during his tenure, already accounting for five percent of the program's victories.
BENCH SCORING BATTLE
- In its win over Fairfield on Dec. 18, Seton Hall won the bench scoring battle for the first time this season, outscoring the Stag reserves 18-2.
- The SHU starting five has figured prominently in the offensive output this season, accounting for 88.9 percent of the team's points.
- Sophomore Lubirdia Gordon paced the strong bench effort in the win over Fairfield, nearly recording a double-double in 13 minutes with eight points and seven rebounds.
