Pirates Down Butler for Third Straight Win, 83-68

Sunday, January 17

South Orange, N.J.

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

6-3,4-2Big East

Butler

1-8,1-7Big East

Butler

Seton Hall

1/17/2021 4:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Graduate student Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) scored a game-high 24 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team downed Butler, 83-68, Sunday in Walsh Gym for its fourth win in five games.

The Hall drained 15 three-pointer in the game and used an 18-4 run in the first quarter to grab a sizeable lead early. Although Butler cut the lead to just one point before halftime, the Pirates maintained their advantage and cruised in the second half.

Espinoza-Hunter continued her assault from three-point range, draining 6-of-7 shots to fuel her 24-point outburst. For the game she was 9-for-12 from the floor and had a career-high eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Senior Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) scored 18 points off the bench on 8-for-13 shooting to go with five rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks. Junior Alexia Allesch (Basking Ridge, N.J.) tied her career-high with 13 points and had five rebounds.

The Story:
Trailing 4-3 in the early goings, Jackson drained three-pointer on back-to-back possessions to jumpstart an 18-4 run which gave Seton Hall a 21-8 lead with only 3:45 left to play in the opening quarter. The Hall took a 26-15 lead into the second quarter after holding Butler to just 31.6% shooting and 0-for-6 from three-point range in the first 10 minutes.

Butler opened the second quarter like a different team offensively, connecting on its first five three-point attempts. An 11-2 run cut Seton Hall's lead to just 38-37 with 3:20 left to play before the break, but Espinoza-Hunter connected for three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to boost the Pirates' lead back up.

The Hall had one of its best shooting halves of the season, firing a 65.5% clip from the floor and going 10-for-14 from three-point range.

The Pirates opened the second half with renewed vigor on the defensive end, holding Butler scoreless for the first 6:13 while going on a 9-0 run to extend its advantage to 58-43. Butler cut its deficit to 11 points on two occasions, but a 12-3 Pirate run put The Hall back up big, 75-55, with 9:25 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Pirates rolled from there.

PRETTY passing on this fast break... Pirates on a 13-2 run right now...#HALLin pic.twitter.com/2KKfBWWos4
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) January 17, 2021

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 31-for-64 (48.4%) from the floor for the game, while Butler was 24-for-62 (38.7%). The Hall was a remarkable 15-for-26 (57.7%) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were 11-for-24 (45.8%) after missing their first six shots.
Espinoza-Hunter had a game-high 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor, including 6-for-7 from three-point range. She also had a career-high eight rebounds to go with four assists and two steals.
The Hall out-rebounded Butler, 37-to-34, which included a 10-to-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
Elmore tallied 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting to go with five rebounds, four steals, three assists and three blocks in only 21 minutes.
Seton Hall was 6-for-8 (75.0%) from the free-throw line, while Butler was 9-for-10 (90.0%).
Allesch tied her career-high with 13 points and was 2-for-4 from three-point range. She also had five rebounds.
Seton Hall forced 17 turnovers, while Butler forced 15.
Sophomore Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) had eight points and a game-high six assists with just two turnovers in only 22 minutes.
The Hall out-scored Butler in fast-break points, 19-to-0.
The Pirates led for all but 38 seconds in the game.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in BIG EAST games, while Butler falls to 1-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
The Hall improves to 12-5 all-time against Butler and has now won six straight games in the series. It is the second straight year that the Pirates have swept the season series.
Seton Hall's 15 three-pointers is a season-high and is just one shy of the program record for most in a single game. The Pirates had 16 against Butler in last year's quarterfinal game of the BIG EAST Championship.
Park-Lane has had at least five assists in eight games so far this year and 19 times in her career. She has also started 40 consecutive games, every game of her collegiate career.
Seton Hall had a season-high 26 assists today. The single-game Seton Hall record is 30 set against Providence on Feb. 16, 1994.
With 18 points today, Elmore surpasses the 800-point milestone for her career and moves past former Barb Withers into 39^th place on the program's all-time scoring list. She now has 793 career points.
Seton Hall's 10 blocks today are a season high.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, January 20 when it hosts local BIG EAST rival St. John's at Walsh Gymnasium. The game will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and shown on FloHoops.com, and of course will be provided on the radio by 89.5 FM WSOU and wsou.net. Tip-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.