Moving On! Pirates Advance In BIG EAST Tournament

Saturday, March 3

Chicago, Ill.

7:30 p.m.

Seton Hall University

16-14

Xavier

10-20

Xavier

Seton Hall

3/4/2018 12:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF BOX

CHICAGO – Behind its best all-around defensive performance of the season, the seven-seed Seton Hall women's basketball team (16-14) rolled past 10-seed Xavier (10-20) on Saturday night by a score of 66-42 in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep. With the win, The Hall advances to take on No. 2 DePaul (23-7) in quarterfinal action on Sunday.

The Pirates held the Musketeers to the lowest point total for an opponent this season (42) by seven points and the lowest field goal percentage (22.6 percent) for an opponent by 7.5 percent. On the other end of the floor, Nicole Jimenez (Miami, Fla.) led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points. In total, three Pirates scored in double-figures and six scored at least seven points in The Hall's most decisive win since Dec. 10.

Head Coach Anthony Bozzella on the result
"I was really proud of the girls and the way they came out especially on the defensive end. I have a lot of respect for Xavier and to play that well against a team like that is really impressive. I thought we shared the ball really well and rebounded at a high level. I'm excited to see what the rest of the tournament has in store for us."

Turning Point
The Pirates came out strong and took a 14-8 lead after a quarter, going up 32-25 at the half after an even second quarter. The third quarter, however, was all Pirates. The Hall exploded for a 20-7 edge in the frame, closing the quarter on an 11-1 run to take a 20-point lead to the fourth. The Pirates swelled their lead to as many as 29 late in regulation as they cruised to the victory.

Inside The Numbers

The Pirates shot an efficient 50.0 percent from the floor (28-56) while holding XU to a 12-of-53 (22.6 percent) mark
From 3-point range, The Hall shot 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) while XU was 6-of-32 (18.8 percent)
In the second half, Xavier was 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) from the floor and The Hall shot 15-of-25 (57.7 percent)
Jimenez was joined in double-figures by Selena Philoxy (Queens, N.Y.) and Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) with 10 points each
The Pirates finished with a 45-30 edge on the glass, led by nine from Samuels and six each from Taylor Brown (Paterson, N.J.), Kimi Evans (Jackson, N.J.) and Philoxy
The Hall finished with a 32-10 edge in points in the paint and a 26-18 advantage in bench points
Seton Hall recorded 15 assists on 28 field goals, led by five against no turnovers from Inja Butina (Zagreb, Croatia)

News and Notes

The Pirates improve to 3-0 this season and 10-1 all-time against Xavier
The Hall has now won a BIG EAST Tournament game in each of the last six years and improve to 6-4 in the tournament under Bozzella
Jimenez has scored in double-figures in each of the last four contests and is averaging a team-high 14.3 points per game in that span
Philoxy's double-digit effort was her second of the season and marked the 19^th time this season a Pirate reserve has scored at least 10 points
The win was the third time this season The Hall has held an opponent to under 50 points, also happening against Saint Peter's (49, Nov. 10) and Rider (49, Nov. 25)
The Pirates improve to 12-1 this season when holding an opponent under 60 points
Jimenez also snared a career-high seven rebounds and led The Hall with two steals
Xavier did not have a player finish in double-figures

What's Next
The Pirates will take on two-seed DePaul in quarterfinal action on Sunday at 7 p.m. (ET). The Hall faced DePaul on Feb. 25 at Walsh Gym, battling the league's co-champs to the wire in a 72-68 setback.