Rivalry Renewed: Pirates Visit Rutgers on Friday

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The Seton Hall women's basketball team (6-1) faces its toughest test of the young season when it heads south for a Garden State showdown with Rutgers (8-2) on Friday afternoon. The matinee from the Rutgers Athletic Center will tip at 2 p.m. on BTN Plus and over the air on WSOU, 89.5 FM.

Both teams enter the 45th installment of the rivalry riding winning streaks, as The Hall has won four in a row and RU has picked up three-straight victories. The Hall is coming off a successful five-game homestand that saw it go 4-1 with a series of convincing victories, most recently defeating Marist and St. Francis Brooklyn last week. Rutgers is in the midst of an eight-game home stretch and most recently defeated Virginia on Monday night.

SETON HALL TIP-INS >>

Taylor Brown (Paterson, N.J.) leads The Hall with 14.4 points per game, while Donnaizha Fountain (13.6 ppg) and JaQuan Jackson (13.4) are also in double-figures
The Hall is currently the best rebounding team in the BIG EAST, leading the league in rebounding margin, offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebound percentage
The Pirates rank third in the conference in both scoring offense and defense, the only team in the league to place in the top half in both categories
The Hall ranks fifth in the nation with 14.6 steals per game
Friday's contest will signify the fifth-straight year the Pirates and Scarlet Knights have squared off as non-league foes, including postseason meetings in 2014 and 2015

RUTGERS REPORT >>

The Scarlet Knights enter Friday's contest with an 8-2 overall record and a 4-0 mark at home
Tyler Scaife leads RU offensively with 20.1 points per game
Rutgers is holding opponents to 58.3 points per game and hold a +7.0 turnover margin

SQUARING OFF WITH THE SCARLET KNIGHTS >>

Friday will be the 45th installment of the Garden State rivalry with Rutgers
The Hall is 10-34 all-time against RU in a series dating back to 1974
The two sides have met in each of the last five seasons as non-conference foes, including a pair of postseason encounters
After Rutgers won 12-straight in the series from 2003-12, Seton Hall has gone 2-3 in the last five meetings
Last year, RU picked up a 53-45 victory on Dec. 13 at The RAC
Jackson led The Hall with 21 points in last season's setback
SHU's last win vs. RU came on Nov. 16, 2015 - a 77-49 rout at Walsh Gym
The Pirates are looking for their first win in Piscataway since Jan. 20, 1996

ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN RECAP >>

The Hall closed a season-long five-game homestand in style, taking down St. Francis Brooklyn by a score of 84-50 on Dec. 2
The Pirates enjoyed an all-time shooting day, connecting on 60.7 percent of attempts from the floor - the fifth best mark in a game in Seton Hall history
Taylor Brown led the offensive barrage with 17 points on 8-9 shooting, while JaQuan Jackson added 16 including four 3-pointers
In total eight Pirates scored at least seven points as The Hall finished 34-of-56 from the field and 7-of-14 from 3-point range
Inja Butina went for eight points, eight assists, no turnovers and five steals
The Pirates held a 32-9 edge in points off turnovers and 48-22 advantage in the paint

WHAT'S AHEAD >>
The Pirates are back on the road for another tough test on Sunday, Dec. 10 when they visit Boston College at 1 p.m.