BIG EAST Play Resumes as #23 WBB Hosts Butler
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
#23/RV SETON HALL (12-1, 1-0) vs. BUTLER (4-8, 0-1)
South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) • Tuesday, Dec. 30 • 7:00 PM
Broadcast: Pirate Sports Network (Play-by-play: Jon Schaeffer; Color: David Gass)
Radio: WSOU 89.5 FM (Play-by-play: Steve Varsanyi; Color: George Balekji)
Seton Hall Game Notes 
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Seton Hall picked up one of the biggest regular season wins in program history with its decisive 70-51 victory over No. 14/16 Georgia on Sunday afternoon, a game that caught the attention of the national media and helped propel the Pirates into the national rankings for the first time since 1995. SHU will have no time to celebrate as they get right back to action with a pair of BIG EAST matchups as conference play begins in earnest.
Seton Hall hosts the Butler Bulldogs on Tuesday night in Walsh Gym at 7 p.m., the first of two BIG EAST games in four days with a matchup at St. John's waiting on Friday night.
The Pirates have been red hot, winning 11-straight, the third-longest win streak in school history, and 14 in a row on their home floor. Butler, which started the season with a 1-7 record, has won three of its last four games to enter conference play on a bit of a high note.
The Bulldogs will present a challenge the Pirates have rarely faced this season, as they excel at shooting the ball from the outside, nailing 75 triples this season with a pair of lethal 3-point threats in Blaire Langlois and Sydney Buck.
Langlois, who was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday, averages 11.6 ppg and has hit 29 shots from beyond the arc. Buck is shooting 34.1 percent from 3-point range with 30 of her 39 field goals coming from long distance.
However, leading the team offensively is guard Loryn Goodwin, who averages more than 35 minutes per game and fills out the stat sheet with 16.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. While Goodwin leads the team in assists, the Bulldogs rely on having several players distribute the basketball, as four starters average at least two assists per game.
Seton Hall boasts its own sharp shooter in the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Tabatha Richardson-Smith, who leads the league and ranks 13th nationally with 3.2 3-pointers per game.
Butler takes care of the basketball, averaging just 14.1 turnovers per game, and Seton Hall will look to get that number closer to 20. The Pirates forced Georgia into 20 giveaways on Sunday, and the Pirates are averaging more than 12 steals per game, the second-best mark in the league.
As has been the case all year, converting those extra possessions into points will be key, with SHU averaging 19.5 points off turnovers per game.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Seton Hall is coming off one of the biggest wins in program history, dispatching previously unbeaten No. 14/16 Georgia, 70-51, on Sunday afternoon. It was the first win over a ranked team for SHU since 2007, and the Pirates' 11-game winning streak is the third-longest in program history.
- Tabatha Richardson-Smith scored a game-high 25 points in the win over Georgia, knocking down five shots from 3-point range. She netted 17 points in the second half, including 11 in a row during a game-changing 25-2 run.
- Junior forward Tiffany Jones, playing in just her second Division I game, came off the bench to give the Pirates a boost, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds in just 11 minutes.
BUTLER STATUS
- After starting the season 1-7, the Bulldogs have been on a bit of a roll, winning three of four, most recently picking up a 72-60 win at Illinois State back on Dec. 22.
- Three players average double figures for Butler, which is led by redshirt sophomore guard Loryn Goodwin, who averaged 16.5 ppg. Blaire Langolis (11.6 ppg) was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday.
- Senior post Ijeoma Uchendu has established herself as one of the top rebounders in the conference with 9.1 per game, the third-best rate in the league. However, Butler has a -8.6 rebound margin as a team.
LAST TIME VS. BUTLER
- Seton Hall lost twice to Butler last season, falling 75-69 at home and 74-72 on the road, late in the regular season.
- In the last meeting, SHU got off to a slow start and trailed for the entire first half and by as many as 11 points before taking a slim second half lead that failed to hold.
- SHU turned the ball over 20 times in that loss on the road, despite averaging just 12.1 turnovers per game at the time.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons scored 24 points and Bra'Shey Ali had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
PIRATES FELL A RANKED FOE
- Seton Hall picked up a convincing 70-51 win over No. 14/16 Georgia on Dec. 28, picking up its first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 19 Marquette on Feb. 20, 2007.
- The Bulldogs were the highest ranked team the Pirates had defeated since picking up a win at No. 12 Notre Dame in January 2006.
- The 19-point margin of victory was the largest for The Hall over a ranked team since beating No. 8 Connecticut, 74-53, in 1994.
- The win was just the ninth over an AP Top-25 team in program history.
RANKED FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1995
- Seton Hall checked into the latest AP Top-25 Poll at No. 23, making it the first time the Pirates have received a national ranking in nearly 20 years; since they were No. 25 on Jan. 31, 1995.
- The Pirates picked up 73 votes, a 71 vote increase from the week before thanks to a 19-point win over No. 14 Georgia.
- DePaul checked in at No. 25 in the latest AP Poll, putting two BIG EAST teams in the top-25 for the first time since the conference split prior to the 2013-14 season.
HALL OFF TO BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
- Seton Hall is off to a 12-1 start to the season, which matches the best record the program has ever had through 13 games.
- The 1977-78 squad started 12-1 en route to a 21-8 overall mark. That team won its first nine games of the year, the most ever for a Seton Hall team.
- Against Butler on Tuesday the Pirates will take aim at posting a 13-1 record for the first time.
PIRATES TAKE AIM AT PROGRAM'S LONGEST WINNING STREAK
- With its 70-51 victory over No. 14/16 Georgia on Dec. 28, Seton Hall ran its current winning streak to 11 games in a row, the longest for The Hall in 33 years.
- Against Butler, Seton Hall will be looking to win its 12th straight for the first time since an era that predates BIG EAST women's basketball, the 1980-81 season.
- In 1980-81, Seton Hall won 12 games in a row for the second time in as many years, a mark that still stands as the longest win streak in program history.
PIRATES PLAYING PRETTY WELL IN WALSH
- The Pirates also boast a pretty healthy home winning streak, taking 14 in a row in Walsh Gym dating back to last season.
- That 14-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 24-5 at home, including a 9-0 mark this season.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK ONCE AGAIN
- Guard Tabatha Richardson-Smith was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Dec. 29, making it the second time in three weeks she earned the conference honor.
- Richardson-Smith has now received Player of the Week honors four times, the most for any SHU player in program history.
- She received the latest accolade after scoring a game-high 25 points with five 3-pointers in the win over No. 14/16 Georgia. She scored 17 points in the second half, including a run of 11 unanswered.
