WBB Road Swing Continues at Marquette Sunday
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RV/#24 SETON HALL (22-3, 11-2) at MARQUETTE (6-19, 2-12)
Milwaukee, Wis. (Al McGuire Center) • Sunday, Feb. 15 • 3:00 PM
Broadcast: MU Tube (www.gomarquette.com)
Radio: WSOU 89.5 FM (Play-by-play: John Fanta; Color: Clayton Collier)
Seton Hall Game Notes 
| Marquette Game Notes | Live Video |
The RV/#24 Seton Hall University women's basketball team will have no time to celebrate its exciting 81-80 win at DePaul from Friday night, because it is right back to work for the first-place Pirates, as they face Marquette University on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee at 3 p.m. (ET).
The Golden Eagles will be celebrating Senior Day prior to the tip, so the Pirates are sure to face an emotional squad in the Al McGuire Center.
While Seton Hall has fared well in Sunday games this year in terms of record, The Hall is 7-1 on Sunday so far this year, with the one loss actually coming at home last week to Creighton, there have been a number of close calls and closing out the second game of difficult conference weeks will be crucial for Seton Hall's chances to hold on to first place in the BIG EAST.
With just five games to play Seton Hall is alone in first place at the top of the BIG EAST standings with an 11-2 record in conference play, and thanks to the season sweep of DePaul, SHU controls its own destiny for the No. 1 seed at the BIG EAST Tournament. However, many tests remain, starting with Sunday on the road.
This is the third Sunday road game during conference play for The Hall, and the first two were very eventful. At Providence on Jan. 11, SHU trailed by as many as 17 points, escaping with a 68-67 lead when Ka-Deidre Simmons converted two at the line with 12 seconds to play. At Georgetown on Jan. 25, Daisha Simmons hit a tough baseline shot to tie the game near the end of regulation, and The Hall needed overtime to prevail, 99-85.
When Seton Hall hosted Marquette last month, the Pirates sprinted out to a fast start and never looked back. The Pirates limited the Golden Eagles to 23.1 percent shooting in the first half, and led 43-20 at the intermission, and by as many as 33 points in the second half. Freshman Kenisha Bell (10 points) was the only starter to finish in double figures for Marquette, and McKayla Yentz came off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles with 12 points.
The Pirates saw four players score in double figures, with Daisha Simmons leading the way with 24 points. Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Janee Johnson both hit three shots from long distance, while Ka-Deidre Simmons scored 17 points and dropped eight dimes.
Seton Hall has struggled to defend the three as of late, giving up 17 triples at DePaul on Friday, but that is not an area the Golden Eagles excel, as they are shooting just 25.5 percent as a team from beyond-the-arc. Marquette also averages 18.7 turnovers per game. They were actually below that average, with just 16 in the first meeting with Seton Hall, but that led to 19 points for the Pirates, greatly aiding that 30-point win.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Seton Hall is coming off a nail biting win at RV/RV DePaul on Friday night. Down by 18 in the first half, the largest deficit the Pirates faced all season, they came all the way back to take a four-point lead with 22 seconds remaining, only to see DePaul come back to regain the lead.
- Graduate Ka-Deidre Simmons hit the game winner with three seconds remaining, as the Pirates swept the season series with DePaul and moved into sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST.
- Seton Hall has won four-straight on the road, and is looking to win five in a row away from home for the first time since 2008.
MARQUETTE STATUS
- Heading into this weekend the Golden Eagles were on a bit of a hot streak, winners of two of three, with a double overtime victory at Butler last Sunday. However, they are coming off a 64-52 loss to St. John's on Friday.
- Marquette led St. John's at the half, but hit just nine field goals in the second half, shooting 34.6 percent from the field as the Red Storm came back to win by double digits.
- Arlesia Morse continues to power the Marquette offense, as she averages a team-best 14.5 ppg. She had a streak of 41-consecutive makes at the line snapped against St. John's on Friday night.
LAST TIME VS. MARQUETTE
- Seton Hall made it back-to-back wins against Marquette for the first time in the series with its 88-58 win at home back on Jan. 16. It was the largest margin of victory for The Hall over a BIG EAST foe since the 1993-94 season.
- Four players scored in double figures for Seton Hall, which was led by Daisha Simmons who had 24 points.
- The Pirates limited Marquette to just 31.2 percent shooting, including a 23.1 percent clip in the first half. The Hall led 43-20 at the half and by as many as 33 points.
- McKayla Yentz came off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles in scoring with 12 points. She was one of two players to score in double figures for Marquette.
SIMMONS NAMED TO LIEBERMAN/NAISMITH LISTS
- Graduate point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons has been named to the Watch List for the prestigious Nancy Lieberman Award and the Naismith Award Midseason 30 List.
- Simmons is one of just 31 players in NCAA Division I to land on the Watch List and is the only player from the BIG EAST conference to earn the distinction.
- She currently ranks second at Seton Hall and fifth in the BIG EAST, averaging 17.3 ppg and leads the league and is 24th nationally with 5.5 assists per game.
- The Watch List will be narrowed to 15 players and then five finalists, with the winner announced at the WBCA Awards Banquet at the Final Four in Tampa, Fla.
THREE-POINT RECORD WITHIN REACH
- Junior Tabatha Richardson-Smith is within striking distance of becoming Seton Hall's all-time leader in 3-point field goals.
- The sharp shooting junior has 173-career 3-pointers, needing just six more to move past Brittany Morris (2009-13) for first place.
- Richardson-Smith has a team-leading 68 3-pointers this season and ranks first in the BIG EAST and 21st in the nation averaging 2.8 3-pointers per game.
SIMMONS PASSES JODI BROOKS
- With her 16 points in the win over DePaul on Feb. 13, Ka-Deidre Simmons moved past Jodi Brooks (1990-94) for fifth-place in scoring all-time at Seton Hall.
- Simmons now has 1,571-career points and is averaging a career-best 17.3 ppg this season.
- The next SHU all-time great she has in her sights is Dana Wynne, with Simmons needing 52 more points to move past her for fourth-place at Seton Hall.
MAKING A COMEBACK
- Seton Hall trailed by 18 points at DePaul on Feb. 13, which was the largest deficit the Pirates faced this season, and the Pirates came all the way back to pick up an 81-80 win.
- The Pirates have not trailed by double figures many times this season, just six times overall, but large deficits have not meant defeat for The Hall, which has come back to win four of the six games in which it trailed by 10 points or more.
