Pirates Can't Complete Comeback, Fall To Xavier

Friday, February 1

South Orange, N.J.

7 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Xavier

Seton Hall

2/1/2019 10:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX (PDF)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team (13-8, 5-5 BIG EAST) made a late push but could not come all the way back in an 80-76 setback to Xavier (11-10, 2-8 BIG EAST) on Friday night at Walsh Gym. The Pirates cut what was a 17-point deficit down to two in the waning moments of regulation before ultimately succumbing.

Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) led three Pirates in double-figures with a game-high 28 points, adding five rebounds, five assists and two steals in defeat. The Hall ran into a hot-shooting Xavier squad that knocked down 13 shots from 3-point range and got team-highs of 21 points and eight assists from Na'Teshia Owens.

How it Happened
The Musketeers jumped on The Hall from the opening tip, opening the game on a 9-0 run to force an early Seton Hall timeout. The Pirates battled back and took a 12-11 lead with a Selena Philoxy (Queens, N.Y.) put-back but was unable to sustain it and went to halftime down 39-35.

In the third quarter, Xavier ripped off a 13-0 run that lasted much of the frame and saw it take the largest lead of the day at 63-46 heading into the fourth quarter. The Hall dug in for the final frame and opened the period on a 7-0 run, getting the lead down to 10. The lead stayed in that range for most of the quarter before a final push from the Pirates.

With 1:44 to play, Nicole Jimenez (Miami, Fla.) came up with a steal near midcourt and finished an old-fashioned three-point play that made it a two-possession game at 73-67. Xavier hit a pair of free throws on its next trip before a SHU free throw, a Jimenez steal and a bucket from Inja Butina (Zagreb, Croatia) got the Pirates within five.

Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) went to the line for the Pirates with under 15 seconds to play down 78-72 and sunk a pair, then saw Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) steal the ensuing inbounds pass and feed Samuels for a lay-up that cut the lead to a single basket. Xavier called timeout with 8.1 ticks to play and advanced to inbound on the sideline, where Philoxy came up with a steal briefly before a traveling violation against The Hall. Owens would then hit two more free throws to push the lead back to its final margin of four.

Inside The Numbers

Jimenez and Butina joined Samuels in double-figures with 19 and 15 points, respectively
The Hall shot 46.7 percent (28-60) from the floor and 31.8 percent (7-23) from 3-point range
Conversely, XU finished at 46.3 percent (25-54) from the field and 37.1 percent (13-35) from 3
The Hall finished with a slight 32-29 edge on the glass, getting eight rebounds apiece from Elmore and Philoxy
Seton Hall assisted on 18 of 28 field goals thanks to five helpers apiece from Hilaire and Samuels
Xavier got a huge spark from its bench, with XU's reserves out-scoring The Hall's 22-5
The Pirates held a 38-22 edge in points in the paint and a 22-9 advantage on the fast break
The Hall was +1 in turnover margin and had 10 steals, three each for Hilaire and Jimenez

News and Notes

The Hall falls to 10-3 all-time against Xavier, dropping both legs of the regular season series with XU for the first time in six years as conference-mates
The Pirates suffered only their second loss of the year when scoring at least 70 points
Samuels' 28 points marked her eighth game with at least 20 points this year
Through 10 league games, Samuels is averaging 21.4 points per game
Butina scored in double-figures for the fourth-straight game
In her last two outings Hilaire has nine assists and zero turnovers

What's Ahead
The Pirates look to split the weekend on Sunday, hosting Butler at 1 p.m.