The Hall Opens Regular Season On Friday Morning

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- The Seton Hall women's basketball team opens its 44th season of competition on Friday morning when it welcomes Savannah State to Walsh Gymnasium. Tip-off for the 2016-17 opener is set for 11 a.m. and will be broadcast for FREE on the Pirate Sports Network with Jon Schaeffer, Chris Pierre-Louis and former Pirate Tajay Ashmeade on the call.

For Friday's contest, all children under 12 can receive a FREE ticket for admission! Presented by RWJ Barnabas and Refuel with Chocolate Milk.

The Hall is in its fourth-season under head coach Anthony Bozzella ('89) and is coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The Pirates have recorded at least 20 wins in each of Bozzella's first three seasons and hold an overall record of 71-29 under the Seton Hall alum.

The Pirates have faced Savannah State once in the past, using a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double from Tabatha Richardson-Smith to secure a 51-42 victory on Nov. 29, 2013. SSU is one of seven opponents from the MEAC that Seton Hall has faced in program history, with an overall record of 11-3 against those teams. The Hall has also performed well in season openers of the course of the program, sporting a 33-10 record in regular season lid-lifters and a perfect 3-0 mark under Bozzella.

SETON HALL TIP-INS

The Pirates are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances as Anthony Bozzella enters his fourth season at the helm of his alma mater
The Hall was projected to finish seventh in the BIG EAST preseason poll, but has exceeded its preseason pick each season under Bozzella
The Pirates will feature one of the nation's youngest squads, boasting a roster that includes a total of nine freshmen
Lubirdia Gordon (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) (5.5 ppg) and LaTecia "TT" Smith (Gardenia, Calif.) (3.2 ppg) are The Hall's leading returning scorers
JaQuan Jackson (Killeen, Texas) will be eligible this season after sitting out 2015-16 due to NCAA Transfer rules - she scored nearly 10 points per game and was a C-USA All-Freshman Team member in two seasons at Louisiana Tech

LADY TIGER TIDBITS

Savannah State is coming off a 10-18 campaign, going 7-9 in the MEAC
The Lady Tigers return their top two scorers in Kentaya Hendrix (12.6 ppg) and Jeremica Edwards (6.9) along with their top rebounder in Tiyonda Davis (8.5 rpg)
Overall Savannah State boasts an extremely experienced roster that includes 11 upperclassmen
Cedric Baker has helmed the Tigers since the 2003-04 season and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2015

LAST TIME OUT
The Hall played an exhibition contest against Philadelphia University on Saturday, its final tuneup before the regular season.

The Pirates came away with an 80-54 victory, out-scoring the Rams in all four quarters
Jackson had a huge day, scoring 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting
Claire Lundberg (Andover, Minn.) was the second Pirate in double figures with 11 points, knocking down a trio of 3-pointers
The Pirates used 16 steals to force 29 Philadelphia turnovers, led by five swipes from Smith
Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) and Deja Winters (Richmond Heights, Ohio) each grabbed seven rebounds to tie for the team-high

WHAT'S AHEAD
Following Friday's opener, the Pirates hit the road for the first time in the 2016-17 campaign to visit Marist on Tuesday, Nov. 15.