Pirates Overcome Slow Start to Down Xavier, 69-59

Friday, February 28

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

17-11,10-7Big East

Xavier

3-25,2-15Big East

Xavier

Seton Hall

2/28/2020 10:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Four Pirates scored in double-figures as the Seton Hall women's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Xavier, 69-59, on Friday for its 10^th BIG EAST victory of the season.

Senior Alexis Lewis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) had a game-high 21 points, despite on off-shooting night from three-point range. She also had a game-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.), Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) and Jasmine Smith (Houston, Texas) also reached double-figures in scoring.

Seton Hall has now reached 10 BIG EAST victories for the third time in the last six seasons, all with Head Coach Anthony Bozzella at the helm.

The Story:
Seton Hall got off to a slow start offensive, which allowed Xavier to grab an early 15-8 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter, but the Pirates closed the gap as the quarter drew to a close. Smith scored the last four points of the quarter for The Hall, her layup with seven seconds left pulled The Hall to within two, 18-16.

Xavier began the second quarter strong and took an eight-point lead, but The Hall responded with a 13-4 run, and a jumper by Lewis gave the Pirates their first lead of the game, 32-31, with 2:34 to go before halftime. Despite allowing the Musketeers to shoot 54.2% in the first half, Seton Hall's deficit was only one at the break, 36-35.

Trailing 41-40 in the third quarter, the Pirates went on a 7-0 run, and a layup by Elmore gave them a 47-41 advantage with 3:20 left in the period. After the Musketeers cut their deficit to five points, 49-44, The Hall went on an 8-1 run that spilled into the fourth quarter, and a three-pointer by Lewis gave it its largest lead of the game, 57-45, with 8:45 left to play in the game.

Xavier never got closer than a six-point deficit the rest of the way.

Check out the highlights from tonight's 69-59 victory over Xavier...#HALLin pic.twitter.com/zpZGwDG2Qy
— Seton Hall WBB (@SHUWBB) February 29, 2020

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 23-for-51 (45.1%) from the floor for the game, while Xavier was 20-for-49 (40.8%). The Hall was 5-for-21 (23.8%) from three-point range, while the Musketeers were 6-for-20 (30.0%).
Lewis had game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with four assists and three steals.
The Hall edged Xavier on the glass, 32-to-32, which included a 12-to-10 advantage on the offensive boards and an 8-to-6 lead in second-chance points.
Elmore had 12 points, including 6-for-8 from the free-throw line, to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Seton Hall was 18-for-27 (66.7%) from the free-throw line, while Xavier was 13-for-19 (68.4%).
Samuels had 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals before fouling out.
Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers, while Xavier forced 17. The Pirates had 20 points off turnovers, while Xavier had 12.
Smith finished with a career-high 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting in a career-high 33 minutes played.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 17-11 overall and 10-7 in the BIG EAST, while Xavier falls to 3-25 overall and 2-15 in conference play.
Seton Hall's victory is its 10^th in BIG EAST play this year, which guarantees a winning season in conference play. It's the third time in the last six years that Seton Hall has reached double-digits in conference wins, all under Head Coach Anthony Bozzella. Furthermore, it's also Seton Hall's 17^th overall victory is its most since the 2015-16 season.
The Hall is now 12-3 all-time against Xavier and has swept the 2019-20 season series.
Elmore scored in double-figures for the 22^nd time in 28 games this season, which leads Seton Hall. She now has 36 such games in her career.
With seven rebounds today, Samuels broke into the top-10 in Seton Hall history. She passed former Pirate Dawn Johnson into 10^th place on the Pirates' career list. She now has 734 career rebounds.
Lewis reached 20 points in a game for the second straight game and the sixth time this season, which leads the Pirates.
Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers today. It's the 12^th time this season that the Pirates have forced at least 20 in a game. Conversely, The Hall has committed 20 turnovers only three times.
Seton Hall improves to 83-30 in home games under head coach Anthony Bozzella and 37-25 in BIG EAST contests.
Tonight was the fourth time this season that the Pirates have won after trailing at the half.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, March 1 when it celebrates Senior Day at Walsh Gym in its final game of the 2019-20 regular season. The Pirates will host Butler with a 1:00 p.m. tip time. The game will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network, and of course will be provided on the radio by 89.5 FM WSOU and wsou.net.