Pirates Fall Despite Spirited Effort Against No. 4 UConn

Thursday, December 5

South Orange, N.J.

6:30 PM

Seton Hall University

5-4,0-0Big East

#4 UConn

7-0,1-0AAC

UConn

Seton Hall

Pirates Fall Despite Spirited Effort Against No. 4 UConn

12/5/2019 10:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Freshman Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) scored a career-high 21 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team gave No. 4 Connecticut a close game, but the Huskies pulled away late to defeat the Pirates, 92-78, before a sold out Walsh Gym crowd on Thursday.

The Pirates led by nine at the end of the first quarter, and trailed by only four at the half, but was outscored 22-14 in the defining fourth quarter.

Jackson came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting, which included five made three-pointers. Senior Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) scored 14 points after missing the prior four games due to injury. Both Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) also scored in double-figures.

The Story:
Connecticut burst out of the gate to take an early 9-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Pirates responded with a 10-2 run, and a layup by Elmore gave The Hall their first lead of the game, 12-11. Leading 16-15, The Hall received three-pointers on back-to-back possessions from Jasmine Smith (Houston, Texas) and Park-Lane to go up, 22-15, with 1:59 left in the first quarter. Park-Lane drilled another three-pointer with just 11 seconds left in the opening frame to put an exclamation point on arguably the finest quarter of basketball all season for The Hall and put them up, 28-19.

The Huskies shot almost 59% from the floor in the second quarter and used an 11-3 quarter-opening run to cut their deficit to 31-30 with 7:27 to go before halftime. From there, the teams traded leads three more times until UConn assumed control late. Another Park-Lane bucket with just 30 seconds left cut The Hall's deficit to two points, UConn's Molly Bent made a layup with only five seconds left to send UConn into the locker room with a 47-43 advantage.

The third quarter was evenly matched with both teams shooting well from the field. Seton Hall shot 50.0%, while UConn connected at a 61.5% clip and outscored the Pirates by only two points. Connecticut used an 8-2 run to take a 63-51 lead with 4:26 left in the third, but The Hall bounced back and a runner by Jackson with 42 seconds left cut UConn's lead to only four points, 68-64.

UConn scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to grab a 13-point advantage and force a Seton Hall timeout. Again, the Pirates cut into their deficit and a three-pointer by Alexis Lewis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) climbed them to within seven points, 77-70, with 6:43 left to play. Connecticut raced ahead though, and an 11-0 run put the game out of reach for The Hall.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 31-for-67 (46.3%) from the floor for the game, while Connecticut was 34-for-66 (51.5%). The Hall was 13-for-34 (38.2%) from three-point range, while the Huskies were 8-for-20 (40.0%).
Jackson scored a career-high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, which included 5-for-8 from three-point range.
UConn out-rebounded The Hall, 45-to-24, which includes an 18-to-8 advantage on the offensive boards and a 17-to-8 lead in second-chance points.
Elmore finished with 16 points to go with three assists and four rebounds.
Seton Hall was only 3-for-4 (75.0%) from the free-throw line, while Connecticut was 16-for-19 (84.2%).
Samuels scored 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor and 2-for-3 shooting from three-point range. She also had four rebounds and two assists.
Seton Hall forced 14 UConn turnovers, while committing only eight.
Park-Lane had 11 points and a team-best four assists with no turnovers.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall drops to 5-4 on the season, while UConn improves to a perfect 7-0.
Seton Hall falls to 10-51 all-time against the Huskies and has now dropped 31 straight games in the series.
After making exactly five three-pointers in six straight games, Seton Hall buried a season-high 13 trifectas against UConn.
Samuels returned to the floor after missing the last four games due to injury.
For the second time in the last four games, Seton Hall committed fewer than 10 turnovers.
Samuels scored in double-figures for the 37^th time of her career, most among Seton Hall active players.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, December 8 when it makes the short trip to New Rochelle, N.Y. for a game at Iona. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and of course will be broadcasted on the radio by 89.5 FM WSOU and wsou.net. Tip-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.