Pirates Visit Villanova On Friday Morning

VILLANOVA, Pa. -- The Seton Hall women's basketball team (8-8, 1-4 BIG EAST) looks to back on track this weekend when it hits the road for a pair of conference road contests. First up is Villanova (6-9, 2-3 BIG EAST) on Friday morning. Tip-off from The Pavilion is set for 11:30 a.m. and will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network via FOX Sports GO with Nick Mantegna and Megan O'Brien on the call.

The Hall is coming off a hard-fought setback to Marquette, a contest that saw the Pirates cut a 23-point deficit to three midway through the fourth quarter in an eventual 83-77 defeat. Villanova is also coming off a loss, coming off a 60-46 setback at Creighton. The two squads have split their regular season series in two of the last three seasons since realignment.

SETON HALL TIP-INS

The Hall is looking to snap a four-game slide as it continues league play with a two-game road swing
JaQuan Jackson leads the BIG EAST in scoring with 16.9 points per game in her first season as a Pirate
The Pirates feature one of the nation's youngest squads, boasting a roster that includes a total of nine freshmen
Kaela Hilaire is second on The Hall in scoring and ranks third in the BIG EAST in assists during her freshman campaign
The Pirates lead the conference in steals, with three players ranked in top-four in the league in thefts

WILDCAT NOTES

Villanova hosts The Hall with a 6-9 record on the year and a 2-3 mark in BIG EAST action
The Wildcats have won two of their last three contests, defeating Georgetown and Providence before a setback at Creighton on Tuesday night
Adrianna Hahn leads VU with 14.3 points per game and is shooting 42.4 percent from 3-point range
Also in double-figures is Alex Louin at 12.0 per game, adding a team-high 3.1 assists per game
The Wildcats are among the national leaders in fewest turnovers, coughing it up only 9.9 times per game
Megan Quinn is VU's leading rebounder at 5.8 per game

MARQUETTE RECAP
The Hall most recently closed a two-game home swing with Marquette, falling by a score of 83-77 on Tuesday night

The Pirates trailed by 16 at the half and were down as many as 23 in the third quarter
The Hall stormed back, closing the third on a 17-2 run before using a 7-0 run in the fourth to pull within a single possesion
Three was the closest the Pirates were able to pull, as MU made clutch shots and free throws down the stretch to fend off the furious rally
Claire Lundberg led four Pirates in double-figures with a career-high 18 points, knocking down 6-of-7 from 3-point range
Jackson added 17 points, while Hilaire finished with 16 points and five assists
The Hall shot 46.9 percent from the floor and 42.1 percent from 3-point range in the setback, out-scoring MU by a 40-26 margin in the paint

VILLANOVA SERIES NOTES
The Pirates are 22-37 all-time against the Wildcats in a series dating back to 1980

The Hall has fared well in the series since realignment, holding a 4-2 record over the last three seasons
Last year the two squads split their season series, with each taking the home contest
After a 55-45 setback at VU on Jan. 15, The Hall snagged a 60-50 win in South orange on Feb. 14
Tabatha Richardson-Smith had big games in both contests, going for 20 points and 12 rebounds on the road and 27 and nine at home
In the home contest, Richardson-Smith scored her 1,805th career point to become SHU's all-time leading scorer
The Hall is 12-16 on the road all-time in the series

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Pirates stay on the road following Friday's contest, trekking further down I-95 to visit Georgetown on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.