WBB Faces Creighton on Fox Sports 1
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NR/RV SETON HALL (5-1, 0-0) at CREIGHTON (3-3, 0-0)
Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena) • Wednesday, Dec. 3 • 8:00 PM
Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 (Play-by-play: Lisa Byington; Color: LaChina Robinson)
Radio: 89.5 FM WSOU (Play-by-play: Chris Paizis; Color: Vincent Latorraca)
Seton Hall Game Notes 
| Live Stats
It may only be the first week of December, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team finds itself playing an important BIG EAST game in its conference opener at Creighton University on Wednesday night. The contest is the first of four nationally televised games for Seton Hall, a program record, with tipoff coming on Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. (ET).
Creighton got the best of Seton Hall in their two meetings a year ago, which included a 70-50 Jays victory in Omaha in late February. That game was a momentous one for The Hall as Ka-Deidre Simmons surpassed 1,000-career points behind a team-high 18, but Creighton was on fire from long-distance, particularly in the second half, when it hit seven of 12 made 3-pointers.
Led by BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Marissa Janning, once again this season the Jays present a formidable challenge because of their outside shooting. Creighton leads the BIG EAST and ranks seventh in the nation, averaging 10.0 3-pointers per game, and features six players that have knocked down at least five threes already this year.
Seton Hall will look to counter that with its own sharp shooter in junior Tabatha Richardson-Smith. Richardson-Smith tied the Seton Hall single-game record with seven triples against No. 17 West Virginia, and ranks sixth in the country averaging 3.6 treys per contest. She set a school record with 85 3-pointers last season and is on pace to set another career-bench mark this year.
While Creighton has the overall advantage on the outside, where Seton Hall will look for an edge is with its depth and experience. Seton Hall boasts three graduate students in its starting lineup, Creighton has just a pair of upperclassmen. While Janning is fifth in the league in scoring at 18.2 ppg, she is the only player for the Jays averaging double figures. Seton Hall has four of its starters in double figures and three of the top-eight scorer's in the league, led by Ka-Deidre Simmons who ranks second with 18.8 ppg.
What else to watch? The turnover battle. Seton Hall has 15 steals in each of its last two games and has scored more than 20 points off turnovers in four of its six matchups. Creighton however rarely turns the ball over, giving it away just 12 times per game, the 12th-best mark in the country. The Pirates' ability to play their style and get in the passing lanes will go a long way toward determining the outcome.
Seton Hall will have its hands full as D.J. Sokol Arena is sure to be rocking on Wednesday night, and Creighton has one of the best home court advantages in the country. Over the past three seasons the Jays are 25-4 at home, posting a 13-2 mark last season, their first in the BIG EAST.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Led by the BIG EAST Player of the Week Daisha Simmons, Seton Hall posted a 3-0 record last week and won the SHU Thanksgiving Classic with a 77-60 win over Saint Joseph's in the tournament final.
- Simmons averaged 23 ppg last week and topped 20 points in both SHU Thanksgiving Classic games, torching Saint Peter's for 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting on Saturday afternoon.
- Seton Hall is off to a 5-1 start for the second-straight season under Anthony Bozzella, but the Pirates are looking to run their winning streak to five in a row for the first time since 2008.
CREIGHTON'S STATUS
- Creighton is coming off a difficult stretch that included road games at Connecticut and California, and the Jays enter the week at 3-3 overall, with wins over South Dakota State, Utah and Cincinnati.
- BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Marissa Janning leads the Jays offensively and ranks fifth in the conference, averaging 18.2 ppg. She scored a team-high 22 points in a 94-69 loss at No. 14 California on Saturday, knocking down five shots from 3-point range.
- No other players average double figures for Creighton, but nearly every player that steps out on the court for the Jays is a threat to knock down a 3-pointer. In all, six players have hit at least five threes this season and Creighton leads the BIG EAST averaging 10.0 made 3-pointers per game.
BIG EAST OPENERS
- Seton Hall is 12-20 all-time in its first game of a new conference season.
- The Pirates are 11-21 all-time in their first conference road game of the season.
- Last season, the Pirates' BIG EAST and conference road opener came at St. John's on Dec. 28, a contest the Red Storm won 72-63.
LAST TIME AT CREIGHTON
- Seton Hall lost 70-50 at Creighton last season, but it was a memorable game for The Hall as Ka-Deidre Simmons scored her 1,000th-career point in the game.
- Simmons led the Pirates with 18 points but Seton Hall shot just 1-for-9 from 3-point range while Creighton lit it up from the outside, burying 12 3-pointers.
- McKenzie Fujan (17) and Marissa Janning (16) both scored in double figures to lead the Jays.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK REDUX
- Seton Hall landed BIG EAST Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks after Ka-Deidre Simmons (Nov. 24) and Daisha Simmons (Dec. 1) received the accolade in consecutive weeks.
- It is the first time in nearly 20 years SHU was home to the BIG EAST Player of the Week for two weeks in a row; Dana Wynne and Dawn Johnson accomplished the feat in December 1994.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons averaged 20.7 ppg and 7.5 assists per game in leading the Pirates in the Preseason WNIT. She scored a career-high 28 points, 23 of which came in the second half, to lead SHU past Penn State, grabbing seven rebounds with five assists.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons recorded her fourth-career double-double with 20 points and 10 assists at West Virginia. It was the third time in her career she had a 10-plus assist performance.
- Daisha Simmons was named the SHU Thanksgiving Classic MVP averaging 27.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 5.0 steals per game in wins over Saint Peter's and Saint Joseph's. She scored 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting in the win over Saint Peter's.
- Daisha Simmons shot 51.0 percent (26-for-51) from the field in SHU's three wins and averaged 23.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.7 steals per contest.
3-POINT SHOOTOUT
- Two of the top 3-point shooting threats in the nation will be on the floor when Seton Hall battles Creighton on Wednesday night in Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Marissa Janning.
- Richardson-Smith currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks sixth in the nation, averaging 3.6 3-pointers per game. Janning is right behind her at 3.33 triples per contest, the 17th-best mark in th nation.
- Richardson-Smith set the Seton Hall single-season record with 85 3-pointers last season and she has hit 18 3-pointers in five starts so far this season.
- As a team, Creighton ranks seventh in 3-pointers per game with 10.0 per contest and 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (.414).
STICKY FINGERS
- Seton Hall has proven to be particularly effective at forcing turnovers so far this season, with three of the Pirates' opponents turning the ball over more than 20 times.
- The Pirates have tallied double-digit steals as a team in five of their six games this year, with 15 steals in each of the last two games.
- That proficiency will be put to the test on Wednesday night as Creighton is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to protecting the basketball. The Jays are turning the ball over just 12 times per game, the 12th-best mark in the country.
