Pirates Pick Up Win Over Second-Place Butler

Sunday, February 3

South Orange, N.J.

1 p.m.

Seton Hall University

Butler

Seton Hall

2/3/2019 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX (PDF)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team (14-8, 6-5 BIG EAST) turned in a complete performance to knock off second-place Butler (17-5, 7-4 BIG EAST) by a score of 83-62 in front of 1,344 fans on Sunday afternoon at Walsh Gym. The contest was part of the New Jersey Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (NJAIAW) celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) and Inja Butina (Zagreb, Croatia) combined for 48 points to lead the way for the Pirates, with Samuels adding 10 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. The Hall knocked down double-digit 3-pointers and led for nearly 35 minutes in the 21-point victory.

🎬: We hit 10 threes and knocked off the second-place team in the BIG EAST by 21 points today. So you KNOW we've got plenty of #HALLdrip highlights. #HALLin pic.twitter.com/tyzTLbpjAv
— Seton Hall WBB (@SHUWBB) February 3, 2019

Head Coach Anthony Bozzella on the result
"I loved the toughness we showed, a lot of determination. I give the girls a lot of credit, Butler is a great team and we were able to play our way today. You're seeing it every game now that Shadeen [Samuels] is a really special player and she was terrific again today."

How it Happened
The teams traded leads for much of the opening quarter, but a Kaity Healy (Freehold, N.J.) 3-pointer at the tail end of the first frame gave the Pirates an 18-13 lead. BU pulled back within two with 6:39 to go in the second quarter before the Pirates ripped off a 9-0 run to help build a double-digit halftime lead. Samuels and Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) accounted for all nine points during the spurt.

In the third quarter the Pirates saw their lead balloon to the largest of the day at 47-28 with a Samuels 3-pointer at 6:09 to play in the period. A Butina triple in the dying moments of the quarter kept the Pirates up 19 heading to the fourth. The Hall did not allow Butler to get closer than 15 in the final period and saw Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) go 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 2:02 of regulation to put the game away.

Inside The Numbers

The Pirates shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the floor and 34.5 percent from (10-29) from three
Converseley, BU finished at 43.1 percent (25-58) from the field but only 21.1 percent (4-19) from deep
The Pirates made their free throws count, going 25-of-28 (89.3 percent) from the charity stripe
The Hall finished with 16 assists on 24 field goals led by a game-high five helpers from Hilaire
Seton Hall was +5 in turnover margin, using 13 steals to force 21 Butler turnovers
Seven different Pirates notched a steal, led by Butina with three swipes
Samuels' 27 points came on an efficient 10-of-12 day from the floor and 3-for-4 mark from deep
Butina finished with 21 points and went 11-for-12 from the stripe
The Pirates out-scored BU 16-15 in second chance points, 17-11 off fast breaks and 26-12 off turnovers
Hilaire went for 15 points to pace a 23-11 edge for The Hall in bench scoring
The Pirates finished with six blocked shots, their most in a league game this year

News and Notes

The Pirates improve to 7-5 all-time against Butler, including a 5-1 mark at Walsh Gym
Samuels scored 20-plus points for the fourth straight game
- In that span, Samuels is averaging 27.5 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game is and shooting 60.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from 3-point range
- Samuel's double-double was her eighth of the season and her fifth "20 and 10" game
- During BIG EAST play Samuels is averaging 21.9 points per game
Butina scored in double-figures for the fifth-straight game and notched her fourth 20-point outing of the season
It was the third time this season Butina and Samuels have both scored 20 in the same game
The Pirates have hit double-digit 3-pointers in a game seven times this season
In her last three games, Hilaire has 14 assists and zero turnovers
The 1,344 fans in attendance mark an 81.2 attendance capacity and is tied for the best crowd of the season