Undermanned Pirates Stun Marquette, 69-57

Sunday, December 19

South Orange, N.J.

12:00 PM

Seton Hall University

5-5,1-2Big East

Marquette

8-3,2-1Big East

Marquette

Seton Hall

Photo by: Matt Kipp

12/19/2021 3:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Lauren Park-Lane erupts for 25 points and eight assists as The Hall uses a 16-0 fourth-quarter run to stun Marquette.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Junior Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) erupted for a season-high 25 points to go with eight assists and the Seton Hall women's basketball team surprised Marquette, 69-57, in Walsh Gym on Sunday.

The Pirates, playing with only eight available players and two coaches due to COVID-19 protocols, used a thrilling 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to stun the Golden Eagles late. The victory is the Pirates' first in conference play, while Marquette suffers its first BIG EAST loss and has a four-game win streak snapped.

Park-Lane erupted for a season-high 25 points on the strength of 6-for-8 shooting from three-point range. She also dished out eight assists and grabbed four rebounds. Her six made trifectas are a career-high.

Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Senior Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) had 12 points and six rebounds.

The Story:
Park-Lane and Seton Hall set the tone early, outscoring Marquette 18-15, in the opening quarter. Twelve of the Pirates' 18 points came from their point guard, fueled by three made three-pointers. The Hall scored the first six points of the second quarter to give them a 24-15 lead with 8:17 left before halftime and force an early Marquette timeout. The Golden Eagles, however, methodically cut into the Pirates' lead and a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer cut Seton Hall's lead to 31-30 at the break.

With the score tied at 41, the Pirates went on a 10-3 run and a jumper by Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) gave them a 51-44 advantage with 2:11 left in the third quarter. Marquette scored the final four points of the quarter, however, and Seton Hall took a three-point lead, 51-58, into the fourth.

Marquette's Karissa McLaughlin hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 51 just 36 seconds into the fourth quarter, but that's when the Pirates' fortunes changed in a big way. Seton Hall's defense held the Golden Eagles scoreless for the next 6:29, and without a field goal for 8:27. During that time, the Pirates went on a 16-0 run, capped by three-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Park-Lane and Wright. The latter gave The Hall a commanding, 67-51, lead with 3:13 left to play.

Here are the highlights from our thrilling win over Marquette...#HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🏀 pic.twitter.com/UyU9DOqMNz
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 19, 2021

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 30-for-61 (49.2%) from the floor for the game, while Marquette was 22-for-66 (33.3%). The Hall was 7-for-17 (41.2%) from three-point range, while the Golden Eagles were 6-for-14 (42.9%).
Park-Lane had a season-high 25 points and made a career-high six three-pointers on eight attempts. She also had eight assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Marquette edged Seton Hall in rebounding, 39-to-37, which included a 12-to-4 advantage on the offensive glass and a 12-to-4 lead in second-chance points.
Espinoza-Hunter finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
Seton Hall was 2-for-4 (50.0%) from the free-throw line, while Marquette was 7-for-8 (87.5%).
Cooks had 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Seton Hall forced 16 turnovers, while Marquette forced 12. Seton Hall had a 12-to-8 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Wright finished with five points, three assists and a career-high six rebounds.
Seton Hall dominated in the paint, outscoring Marquette, 32-to-8.
Junior Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) had a strong game with four points and seven rebounds.

This Amari Wright three-pointer extends the Pirates run to 16-0!! Timeout Marquette!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/TQZ5GjfMFK
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 19, 2021

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in the BIG EAST, while Marquette drops to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Pirates snapped Marquette's four-game win streak.
Seton Hall improves to 10-16 all-time against Marquette and has now won three straight in the series.
Today was the 100^th career game for Espinoza-Hunter.
With six rebounds today, Cooks surpassed the 400-rebound milestone for her career.
Park-Lane has now recorded at least seven assists in six of the last eight games.
Park-Lane's 20-point game is her sixth of the season and 12^th of her career.
The Pirates improve to 96-38 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era.
Seton Hall improves to 5-0 when leading at the half. The Pirates are 4-0 when out-shooting their opponent.
Espinoza-Hunter has now reached double-figures in scoring in 16 straight games dating back to last season.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Tuesday, December 21 when it returns to newly-renovated Walsh Gym to host local non-conference rival Wagner. Game time is scheduled for Noon. The contest will be streamed by the Pirate Sports Network and available to FloSports subscribers.