Cooks, Park-Lane Pace Pirates in Setback to USC, 79-65

Thursday, November 25

Cancun, Mexico / Hard Rock Riviera Maya

4:00 PM

Seton Hall University

2-2,0-0Big East

USC

4-1,0-0Pac-12

Southern California

Seton Hall

Cooks, Park-Lane Pace Pirates in Setback to USC, 79-65

11/25/2021 7:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Cooks goes for a game-high 21 points, while Park-Lane added 17 and a game-best seven assists.

CANCUN, MEXICO – Senior Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) scored a game-high 21 points and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) added 18, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team fell to USC in its Cancun Challenge opener, 79-65, on Thursday.

After a nearly even first half, USC opened the third quarter with a massive 22-4 run. They held the Pirates to just one field goal in a game-changing first 6:55 of the third frame.

Cooks was brilliant pouring in 21 points and was 3-for-5 from three-point range. She also had five rebounds, two steals and a block.

Park-Lane had 17 points to go with a game-high seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Junior Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) had 16 points on the strength of 4-for-9 shooting from three-point range. After a slow start, Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) narrowly missed recording her second-straight double-double. She finished with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The Story:
Both teams started the game on fire from the field and finished the first quarter at 50.0% from the field. The Hall was held without a field goal for 3:35, but USC was able to only take advantage to the tune of a 14-11 lead. From there, the Pirates went on a 7-2 run, and a three-pointer by Jackson gave them an 18-16 advantage.

Another three-pointer by Jackson gave the Pirates their largest lead of the half, 33-28, with 4:24 to go before halftime, but the Trojans closed with a 9-3 run to take a 37-36 edge into the locker room. The Pirates were 7-for-14 from three-point range, compared to just 1-for-8 for the Trojans, but The Hall committed eight turnovers and were out-scored 18-to-6 in the paint.

USC scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 45-36 lead just over two minutes into the third quarter. Park-Lane hit a floater to end the Pirate drought, but the run continued for the Trojans. USC outscored The Hall 22-4, giving them a commanding 59-40 advantage, until a pair of free-throws by Park-Lane with 2:54 left in the third quarter ended the run.

The Hall ended the third quarter with a 9-2 burst, and a breakaway layup by Jackson at the buzzer cut USC's lead to 61-49. A minute into the fourth a three-pointer by Espinoza-Hunter again cut The Hall's deficit to 12 points, 64-52, but the Trojans responded with an 11-3 run to give them a 75-55 lead with 6:10 left to all but put the game away.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 20-for-57 (35.1%) from the floor for the game, while USC was 34-for-74 (45.9%). The Hall was 9-for-25 (36.0%) from three-point range, while the Trojans were 5-for-17 (29.4%).
Cooks had a game-high 21 point on 8-for-15 shooting to go with five rebounds, two steals and a block.
USC out-rebounded The Hall, 46-to-30, which included an 18-to-10 advantage on the offensive boards and a 21-to-8 lead in second-chance points.
Park-Lane finished with 17 points, a game-high seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Seton Hall was 16-for-22 (72.2%) from the free-throw line, while USC was 6-for-8 (75.0%).
Jackson had 16 points and was 4-for-9 from three-point range.
Seton Hall forced 10 turnovers, while USC forced 14. The Trojans had a huge 18-to-6 edge in points off turnovers.
Espinoza-Hunter had 10 points, a game-high nine rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 2-2 on the young season, while USC improves to 4-2.
The Pirates drop to 0-3 all-time against the Trojans.
Seton Hall falls to 2-2 all-time when playing on Thanksgiving day.
With four made three-pointers today, Jackson became only the 12^th player in Seton Hall history to record 100 for her career. Additionally, Jackson moved into a tie with former Pirate Tahnee Heins for 11^th place on the Pirates' career list.
Park-Lane has now scored in double-figures in 12 straight games dating back to last year. Espinoza-Hunter has done so in 11 straight games.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it continues play at the Cancun Challenge. The Hall will take on Toledo at 4:00 p.m. ET at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico. The contest will be available to subscribers on FloSports.