First Place Showdown Sunday in Walsh
1/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RV/RV SETON HALL (16-2, 5-1) vs. RV/RV DEPAUL (13-5, 5-1)
South Orange, N.J. (Walsh Gymnasium) • Sunday, Jan. 18 • 2:00 PM
Broadcast: Pirate Sports Network (Play-by-play: Jon Schaeffer; Color: David Gass)
Radio: WSOU 89.5 FM
Seton Hall Game Notes 
| DePaul Game Notes | Live Video |
It will be a battle for first place in the BIG EAST Conference when the RV/RV Seton Hall University women's basketball team hosts the RV/RV DePaul Blue Demons on Sunday afternoon in Walsh Gym at 2 p.m.
Entering the weekend, four teams sat at the top of the conference standings, but after Friday's results, only Seton Hall and DePaul managed to improve to 5-1, with the Blue Demons picking up a win at St. John's in overtime and Villanova losing at Butler.
Led by senior guard Brittany Hrynko, who ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring with 19.9 ppg, DePaul boasts the highest scoring offensive attack in the nation at 89.7 ppg. During BIG EAST play, the Blue Demons are averaging 90.3 ppg and have topped 100 points twice.
It would be surprising if Sunday's showdown ultimately doesn't come down to which team does a better job of protecting the basketball, and that should be an area Seton Hall has an edge.
DePaul's offense runs on creating turnovers and converting those extra possessions into points. The Blue Demons shoot 43.8 percent from the field, but are giving up 73.5 ppg and allowing opponents to shoot 45.1 percent. DePaul has fired over 500 3-pointers and made 179 of them, but is shooting just 33.8 percent from three, compared to 34.6 percent for its opposition. The Blue Demons even face a disadvantage in free throw shooting (63.0 percent to 69.6 percent) and rebound margin (-3.1).
But DePaul has seven players with more than 20 steals and Blue Demons lead the country in turnover margin at +12.4, forcing teams to turn the ball over a remarkable 25.6 times per game.
Seton Hall runs a similar style. Although not as high scoring, the Pirates do rank second in the league at 73.9 ppg and are sixth in the country in turnover margin at +7.4.
SHU also places an emphasis on protecting the basketball, turning the ball over just 12.5 times per game, which is the 15th best mark in the nation. Over its last three home homes, Seton Hall is averaging a mere 7.6 turnovers per game.
DePaul does hit an average of 9.9 shots per game from 3-point range, so the Pirates will likely need their long-range shooting threats to step up.
Tabatha Richardson-Smith is amongst the nation's leader in 3-point shooting, with 2.8 per game and Janee Johnson has continued her emergence as a long-range shooting option. She has made one in three of her 3-point attempts and ranks third on the team with 19 triples.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Seton Hall is coming off an 88-58 win over Marquette on Friday night, which helped the Pirates improve to 5-1 in the BIG EAST, matching their best start to a conference season since 2000-01.
- The 30-point victory over the Golden Eagles was the largest for The Hall over a BIG EAST foe since it beat Providence 95-65 on Feb. 16, 1994.
- Four players scored in double figures on Friday, led by Daisha Simmons, who finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
- Dating back to last season, Seton Hall has won 17-straight games in Walsh Gym, the second longest home winning streak in program history.
DEPAUL STATUS
- It took an overtime period, but DePaul managed to gain the upper hand in a tough test at St. John's on Friday, winning 84-75.
- The Blue Demons have won six of their last seven and four in a row. Of their five losses this season, three have come in overtime.
- Brittany Hrynko leads the offensive attack, averaging 19.9 points and 5.2 assists per game.
- DePaul has attempted 529 3-pointers, connecting on 179, to shoot 33.8 percent from 3-point range; the team averages 9.9 threes per game.
LAST TIME VS. DEPAUL
- Seton Hall lost its two games against DePaul last season, falling at DePaul 89-73, but falling in a close game 75-68 at home earlier in the season.
- The last time these teams met the Blue Demons' 3-point shooting really made a difference as they hit 11 shots from long range and shot 52.4 percent from deep.
- Seton Hall did manage to force DePaul to commit 20 turnovers, but the points off turnover battle was tied 22-22.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons led Seton Hall with 20 points, but had just three assists with five turnovers. Brittany Hrynko had a quiet scoring night, with six points, but dished out 12 assists for DePaul.
IN THE GIVING MOOD
- After seeing her assist numbers dip at the start of BIG EAST play, point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons has responded as of late.
- She recorded eight assists in the win over Marquette on Jan. 16, and over the past three games is averaging 7.0 assists per game.
- In the three previous games, Simmons averaged just 2.6 assists per game, and failed to dish out more than four in any contest.
- She leads the BIG EAST and ranks 28th in the nation averaging 5.4 assists per game this season.
ANOTHER 3-POINT THREAT
- Graduate Janee Johnson has added a wrinkle to her game this season, emerging as one of Seton Hall's most effective outside shooting threats.
- Entering the season, Johnson had hit just a pair of 3-pointers in her career, both of which came last season. This year? She is third on the team with 19 3-pointers.
- Her shooting has been particularly sharp as of late, averaging 2.0 3-pointers per game over the past for games, hitting three triples, twice, most recently in the win over Marquette on Jan. 16.
- She currently ranks 15th in the BIG EAST with a 33.3 (19-of-57) shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
- Johnson knocked down a career-high four shots from long distance in Seton Hall's 79-74 win at Creighton on Dec. 3, tying a carer-high of 16 points in the process.
PIRATES' REGAIN 3-POINT SHOOTING TOUCH
- Seton Hall hit just 2-of-20 3-point attempts at Providence on Jan. 11, but the Pirates bounced back against Marquette.
- SHU hit eight 3-pointers in the 30-point win over the Golden Eagles, shooting 8-for-23 from 3-point range.
- Over the past three games in Walsh Gym, Seton Hall is averaging 6.7 made 3-pointers per game, compared to 3.0 per game over its last two road contests.
BOZZELLA EFFECT
- Since Anthony Bozzella took over at Seton Hall, the Pirates have seen substantial improvement not just in team scoring, but also in the way several Pirates have managed to transform their games.
- During the 2012-13 season, Seton Hall averaged just 53.2 ppg, compared to 73. 9 ppg so far this season, an increase of 20.7.
- Tabatha Richardson-Smith nearly scored 600 points last season and she leads Seton Hall and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with 16.9 ppg this season. Two years ago she averaged just 4.9 ppg.
- Ka-Deidre Simmons was at 11.5 ppg in 2012-13, but has seen more than a five point jump to 16.9 ppg this season.
- Janee Johnson averaged 3.2 ppg two seasons ago, now she has a dangerous 3-point shot and is currently at 7.9 ppg this year.
