Regular Season Finale for Hall at Butler Sunday
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RV/#25 SETON HALL (25-4, 14-3) at BUTLER (14-14, 10-7)
Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse) • Sunday, March 1 • 1:00 PM
Broadcast: BIG EAST Digital Network (Play-by-play: Mark Minner; Color: Tully Bevilaqua)
Radio: WSOU 89.5 FM (Play-by-play: Clayton Collier; Color: Matt Valentine)
Seton Hall Game Notes 
| Fox Sports Go | Live Stats
The stakes are high as the BIG EAST regular season draws to a close on Sunday afternoon. The RV/#25 Seton Hall University women's basketball team can wrap up at least a share of the BIG EAST regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament as it travels to Butler University for its conference finale. The game has been picked up by the BIG EAST Digital Network and is available via the Fox Sports Go mobile app.
It is not just the Pirates who have a lot riding on this game. Yes, Seton Hall can finish first in league play for the first time in program history, but the Bulldogs can still finish anywhere from third to sixth in the conference, and need a win on Sunday to put themselves in a strong position heading to Chicago next week.
The scenario is simple for The Hall, win on Sunday, and clinch at least a share of the conference crown and the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, no matter what happens when DePaul hosts Marquette.
The Pirates are coming off a convincing 77-60 victory at Xavier on Friday night, one that saw Seton Hall lead wire-to-wire for the third time this season. Butler lost at home to St. John's, 60-49, but at 10-7 in league play, has proven to be a tough out all season long.
Seton Hall's balance proved to be problematic for the Bulldogs in the first meeting back on Dec. 30. The Pirates won 70-65, and led by 11 points with a minute to play before a late Butler charge. Four players scored in double figures for The Hall, led by Daisha Simmons (19) and Ka-Deidre Simmons (17).
However, Butler saw Loryn Goodwin and Ijeoma Uchendu find a great deal of success in that matchup. Goodwin scored a game-high 20 points, which along with 10 rebounds and seven assists helped keep the Bulldogs in the game. Uchendu finished with 10 points and 20 rebounds, which ties the most for an opposing player against SHU this year.
All season long, and particularly as of late, Seton Hall's defensive pressure has created problems for other teams, and back in December The Hall forced 19 turnovers which led to 23 points. During the Pirates' current three-game winning streak, they are averaging 10.3 steals per game and scoring an average of 14.0 ppg off turnovers. A pair of players to watch on Sunday are juniors Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Tiffany Jones, both of whom are coming off big-time performances on Friday night.
Richardson-Smith had trouble getting going in the first meeting with Butler, scoring just nine points, but she netted 24 on Friday night behind four 3-pointers. Jones had appeared in just two games prior to the meeting with Butler, and scored one point with three boards. She has been playing extremely well as of late, posting a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds at Xavier.
SETON HALL STATUS
- Seton Hall moved back into first place in the BIG EAST standings with its 77-60 win over Xavier on Friday night. The Pirates are a win away from locking up at least a share of the conference title and the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- The Pirates have won three in a row and have been playing defense at a very high level during their current win streak. Over the past three games, Seton Hall is averaging 10.3 steals per game and forcing opponents to turn the ball over at a rate of 14.0 times per game.
- Sunday games during conference play have proven to be problematic for The Hall all season. The Pirates are 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in BIG EAST play, with only a +4.3 scoring margin.
BUTLER STATUS
- Butler lost to St. John's, 60-49, on Friday night. Lexus Murry came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points for the Bulldogs.
- Butler has been without leading scorer Loryn Goodwin, who averages 15.6 ppg. She scored 20 points at Seton Hall earlier this year.
- After going 7-2 during the first half of league play, Butler is 3-5 so far during round two. The Bulldogs are 7-5 at home this season.
LAST TIME VS. BUTLER
- Seton Hall picked up its first-ever win over Butler with a 70-65 win over the Bulldogs in December. The Pirates led that game by seven points at the half and were up by as many as 11 with just over a minute to play.
- It was a balanced effort from Seton Hall, although the Pirates did not shoot particularly well from the field, just 37.5 percent as a team. Daisha Simmons led SHU with 19 points and Ka-Deidre Simmons added 17.
- Seton Hall finished the game with a +10 turnover margin and scored 23 points off turnovers. Daisha Simmons recorded seven of the team's 10 steals.
- Butler saw its two leaders Ijeoma Uchendu and Loryn Goodwin post a pair of impressive performances. Goodwin led all scorers with 20 points, coupled with 10 rebounds and seven assists. Uchendu scored 10 points and pulled down 14 boards.
FIRST CONFERENCE CROWN WITHIN REACH
- With a win over Butler in its season finale on Sunday afternoon, Seton Hall can clinch its first-ever BIG EAST regular season title.
- At 14-3 in league play, Seton Hall is currently tied with DePaul at the top of the league standings, but holds the tiebreaker over the Blue Demons via a regular season sweep.
- The only time Seton Hall has finished at the top of the conference standings was back in 1995-96, but the conference was split into two divisions, with the Pirates placing first in the BIG EAST 7 Division with a 9-9 record in league play.
- The Pirates have never been the No. 1 seed at the BIG EAST Tournament.
MOST CONFERENCE WINS IN A TWO DECADES
- Beating Xavier 77-60 on Feb. 27, Seton Hall improved to 14-3 in the BIG EAST, which is the most conference wins for the program in two decades.
- The last time SHU won at least 13 BIG EAST contests came back during the 1993-94 season when the Pirates finished 16-2 in league play, which is the program record for conference wins.
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 third at Seton Hall and sixth in the BIG EAST, averaging 17.2 ppg and leads the league and is 23rd nationally with 5.6 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.
ASSISTS RECORD ON THE HORIZON
- Already ranked second in assists in Seton Hall history, graduate student Ka-Deidre Simmons is on the verge of becoming the Pirates' all-time assist leader.
- Just the second player in program history to top 500-career assists, Simmons currently ranks second at Seton Hall with 529-career assists. She needs just five more assists to pass Kathy O'Reilly's (1985-89) program record of 533.
- She set the SHU single-season record with 174 assists during the 2013-14 campaign and is on pace to break that with 161 assists so far this season.
- Simmons leads the BIG EAST and ranks 23rd in the country, averaging 5.6 assists per game this season.
SIMMONS LEAPS TO THIRD ALL-TIME IN SCORING
- With her 21 points in the win over Xavier on Feb. 27, Ka-Deidre Simmons moved all the way up to third place in Seton Hall history with 1,637 points.
- Averaging a career-best 17.2 ppg in 2014-15, she currently sits just 31 points shy of the No. 2 spot, held by Ozelina Gorham (1978-82) with 1,668 points.
- Geraldine Saintilus (1985-89) in Seton Hall's all-time leading scorer with 1,804 points in her career.
