Pirates Dominate In Thanksgiving Classic Semifinal

Saturday, November 25

South Orange, N.J.

12 p.m.

Seton Hall University

3-1

Rider

0-5

Rider

Seton Hall

11/25/2017 2:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF BOX

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team (3-1) rolled to the championship round of the SHU Thanksgiving Classic with a dominant 85-49 win over Rider (0-5) in Semifinal action on Saturday. Donnaizha Fountain (Roxbury, Mass.) and JaQuan Jackson (Killeen, Texas) combined for 39 points to lead the way for The Hall.

In a tremendous two-way performance, the Pirates held the Broncs to 28.1 percent shooting from the floor while connecting on a 50.0 percent clip themselves. The Hall built its lead early and took a double-digit lead after a quarter and was up 18 at the break. The Pirates continued their strong play into the second half, exploding for a 34-point third quarter to swell their lead to as many as 42 late in the third.

Head Coach Anthony Bozzella on the Result:
"I was obviously very pleased with our effort right from the start. We had eight days off and we used to correct some things and put ourselves in a better position to succeed. Whether we play East Carolina or Jacksonville State tomorrow we will have another big test in front of us and we are excited for the challenge."

Inside The Numbers

The Hal connected on 30-of-60 (50.0 percent) from the floor and 11-of-29 (37.9) from 3-point range
Conversely, SHU held Rider to 16-of-57 (28.1) shooting overall and 3-of-13 (23.1) from three
The Pirates recorded a 45-34 edge on the glass, led by seven caroms from Jayla Jones-Pack (Amityville, N.Y.)
Fountain needed only 19 minutes to record 20 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-for-5 from the free throw line
The Pirates dished out 23 assists on 30 field goals, led by Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) with seven and Nicole Jimenez (Miami, Fla.) with six – both season-highs
Jackson used a season-high five 3-pointers for her 19 points, going 5-of-9 from range
The Hall lost the turnover battle, 21-20, but managed a 23-10 edge in points off turnovers
The Pirates also secured a 36-20 edge in points in the paint and a 29-21 advantage in bench points

News and Notes

The Pirates improve to 11-0 all-time against Rider and 11-5 against in-state foes under Bozzella
The Hall is now 43-8 all-time in home regular season tournament games
Taylor Brown (Paterson, N.J.) finished with 11 points for her fourth-straight game in double-figures
Fountain has scored in double-figures in all four games as a Pirate, with at least 20 points in three of those contests
Through four games, The Hall is averaging 31.0 bench points per game
Deja Winters (Cleveland, Ohio) knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and has five in her last two contests
The 11 made triples for The Hall mark a season high

Up Next
The Pirates will play for their 18^th Thanksgiving Classic title on Sunday when they take on either East Carolina or Jacksonville State at 2:30 p.m.