Elmore, Pirates Edged by DePaul in Instant Classic

Sunday, March 8

Chicago, Ill. / Wintrust Arena

6:00 PM

Seton Hall University

19-12,11-7Big East

DePaul

27-5,15-3Big East

Seton Hall

DePaul

Photo by: Steve Woltmann Photo

3/8/2020 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE (.pdf)

CHICAGO – Junior Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) poured in a career-high 26 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team was edged by No. 18 DePaul, 83-80, in a physical, back-and-forth offensive BIG EAST Championship semifinal at Wintrust Arena on Sunday.

Undeterred by their nationally-recognized opponent, Seton Hall out-shot, made more field goals and out-rebounded DePaul, but came up one possession short.

Elmore was brilliant, scoring her career-best 26 points on an efficient 12-for-16 from the floor. She also had a game-high 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks in an effort for the ages.

Four other Pirates also scored in double-figures, Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.), who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.), Alexis Lewis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio), who had 10 points apiece.

The Story:
The Blue Demons made six of their first seven shots to start the game and built an early 13-5 lead. The Hall however bounced back with an 8-0 run, and back-to-back buckets by Lewis tied the score at 13 with 3:18 left in the first. DePaul pulled ahead again, but three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Jackson brought The Hall back and ultimately resulted in a 24-24 score after one quarter.

Elmore started the scoring in the second quarter to give The Hall a momentary lead, but DePaul went on a 12-0 run to grab a 36-26 advantage with 6:33 left in the half. Still down 10, The Hall scored seven unanswered points, and a three-pointer by Alexia Allesch (Basking Ridge, N.J.) cut the Blue Demon lead to 38-35 with 4:38 left before the break. A three-pointer by DePaul's Kelly Campbell put them up 50-41 with 2:07 to go, but the Pirates scored the last five points of the half to take a four-point deficit into the locker room.

Senior Barbara Johnson (Toronto, Ontario) hit a three-pointer with 8:19 left in the third quarter to cut The Hall's deficit to three, 52-49, but the Blue Demons responded with a 10-2 run to jump ahead 62-51 with 5:32 in the third. The Pirates clawed back however, and a layup by Samuels with 10 seconds left in the third cut The Hall's deficit to just one, 68-67.

A layup by Park-Lane with 4:17 left in the game tied the score at 73, but DePaul again had an answer and Lexi Held hit a three-pointer just eight seconds later to put them back in front. Down 83-77, Lewis drained a three-pointer with 1:08 to go, but The Hall couldn't find the equalizer.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 35-for-71 (49.3%) from the floor for the game, while DePaul was 31-for-69 (44.9%). The Hall was 7-for-23 (30.4%) from three-point range, while the Blue Demons were 14-for-35 (40.0%).
Elmore had a double-double with a career-high 26 points on 12-for-16 shooting from the floor, 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
The Hall out-rebounded DePaul, 43-to-36, which included a 16-to-13 advantage on the offensive boards and an 18-to-7 lead in second-chance points.
Samuels had 13 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists.
Seton Hall was just 3-for-9 (33.3%) from the free-throw line, while DePaul was 7-for-10 (70.0%).
Park-Lane had 10 points and seven assists with only four turnovers.
Seton Hall forced 11 turnovers, while DePaul forced 12.
Lewis had 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
The Pirates crushed DePaul in the paint, out-scoring them, 52-to-26.
Jackson finished with 10 points and three assists.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 19-12 overall, while DePaul improves to 27-5.
Elmore scored in double-figures for the 24^th time in 31 games this season, which leads Seton Hall. She now has 38 such games in her career.
Elmore's double-double is her sixth of the season, which leads the Pirates.
It's only the second time this season that Seton Hall has lost despite making more field goals than their opponent. They're now 19-2 in those games.
It's the first time Seton Hall has lost this season when both out-shooting and out-rebounding its opponent.
Seton Hall's 11 personal fouls were the fewest committed in a game this season.
With 26 points tonight, Elmore surpassed the 700-point mark for her career.

Up Next:
Despite being eliminated from the BIG EAST Championship today, The Hall's season is not over. The Pirates are expecting a bid from either the NCAA or WNIT tournament. Selection day for both tournaments is Monday, March 16.