The Hall Opens League Play With Rival St. John's

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The second season begins on Sunday.

The Seton Hall women's basketball team (8-3) will open BIG EAST conference play on Sunday afternoon when it plays host to rival St. John's (7-4) for a 1 p.m. matinee inside historic Walsh Gym. Both teams enter league action after a successful run through non-league play and will be eager to open BIG EAST action on a high note. The Hall has last won the last two meetings between the two squads in South Orange by a combined 10 points, so another high-intensity showdown between the longtime rivals is expected.

In order to help Pirate fans #PackWalsh for Sunday's league opener, $1 tickets will be available at the door, by calling 973-275-4255 or by clicking this link. If you can't make it out to Walsh, the contest will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network and FOX Sports app with John Fanta, Kim Adams and Meghan Caffrey on the call.

SETON HALL TIP-INS

The Pirates enter conference play with an 8-3 record after closing the non-league with a split at the West Palm Beach Invitational from Dec. 20-21
The Hall opens its 37th season of BIG EAST play on Sunday - SHU is 3-2 in league openers under Anthony Bozzella
Shadeen Samuels earned her third BIG EAST weekly honor roll nod after her performance in West Palm
Samuels is top-10 in the BIG EAST in points per game (16.0), rebounds (9.3), steals (1.8), blocked shots (0.9) and field goal percentage (54.8)
She is joined in double-figure scoring average by Nicole Jimenez at 12.6 per game and Inja Butina at 10.5
The Pirates are top-10 nationally in assists per game, steals per game, turnovers forced and turnover margin
The Hall is 31-45 all-time against St. John's, but has split the season series in each of the last two campaigns

LAST WEEK RECAP

The Hall was last in action at the West Palm Beach Invitational on Dec. 20 and 21, splitting two contests against Georgia Tech and UNC Greensboro
In the tournament opener against the Yellow Jackets, Butina led the Pirates with 21 points in an 84-73 setback
Samuels (16 points) and Jimenez (12) also scored in double-figures against GT, but the Pirates could not fully recover from a 19-point first half deficit
Seton Hall got all the way back within one late in the third quarter before GT pulled away in the final frame
Against UNCG in the tournament finale The Hall was able to pull off a rally, surging from 11 down in the second half to a 71-64 victory
Samuels led the way against the Spartans with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Kaela Hilaire added 15 points and four assists
The Hall trailed for more than 30 minutes of game time against UNCG but closed regulation on an 11-2 run to seal the comeback victory
Victoria Cardaci was the third Pirate in double-figures in the finale with 13 points and a pair of key steals during the second half charge

SCOUTING ST. JOHN'S

The Red Storm visit South Orange with a 7-4 record, picking up wins over Purdue and Ole Miss in non-league action
Qadasha Hoppie leads three St. John's players averaging double-figures with 12.0 points per game
Kayla Charles paces the Red Storm with 7.5 rebounds per game and Tiana England posts a team-best 6.1 assists a night
Sunday's contest will be a contrast in styles - while the teams boast similar records, scoring margins and turnover margins, The Hall averages 81.6 points per game versus St. John's going for 62.9 points a contest

WHAT'S AHEAD
The Pirates will hit the road for the first time in league play to open 2019, visiting Butler (Jan. 4) and Xavier (Jan. 6) in a two-game swing.