Pirates Hold Off Wagner, 70-62

Tuesday, December 21

South Orange, N.J.

12:00 PM

Seton Hall University

6-5,1-2Big East

Wagner

7-3,0-0NEC

Wagner

Seton Hall

12/21/2021 3:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Espinoza-Hunter and Cooks recorded double-doubles as the Pirates win for the third time in four games.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) and Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) recorded double-doubles and the Seton Hall women's basketball team withstood a late Seahawk rally to defeat Wagner, 70-62, in Walsh Gym on Tuesday.

The victory is the Pirates' third in their last four games and boosts their record over .500 (6-5) as the non-conference portion of their schedule draws to a close.

Espinoza-Hunter erupted for a game-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in a strong all-around game. Cooks had 17 points and career-highs of 14 rebounds and six blocks.

Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) had a season-high 11 assists, while Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) had 16 points on the strength of four made three-pointers.

The Story:
Seton Hall never trailed in the game as it roared out of the tip with a 14-4 run to start the contest. Leading 16-10, the Pirates closed out the opening quarter with an 8-0 run over the final 3:48 to take a commanding 24-10 lead into the second.

A three-pointer by Espinoza-Hunter gave The Hall a 31-16 lead with 4:27 left before halftime, but Wagner responded with an 11-2 run to cut its deficit to just six points. That's when Mya Jackson took over. The junior drained three-pointers on three consecutive Pirate possessions in the final 1:27 of the half to send The Hall into the locker room with a 42-27 advantage.

Trailing 65-47 at with 5:24 left in the game, Wagner upped its defense pressure and held the Pirates without a field goal for the remainder of the game. A 13-1 Seahawk run cut The Hall's lead to 66-60 with just 1:40 left, but the Pirates were able to stave off Wagner at the free-throw line. Seton Hall went 4-for-4 from the line down the stretch.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 27-for-61 (44.3%) from the floor for the game, while Wagner was 21-for-71 (29.6%). The Hall was 6-for-23 (26.1%) from three-point range, while the Seahawks were 5-for-16 (31.3%).
Espinoza-Hunter had a double-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
The Hall out-rebounded Wagner, 45-to-43, but the Seahawks had an 18-to-10 advantage on the offensive boards and a 15-to-10 lead in second-chance points.
Cooks had a double-double with 17 points and career-highs of 14 rebounds and six blocks.
Seton Hall was 10-for-12 (83.3%) from the free-throw line, while Wagner was 15-for-20 (75.0%).
Jackson finished with 16 points on the strength of 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range.
Seton Hall forced 13 turnovers, while Wagner forced 19.
Park-Lane dished out a season-high 11 assists.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 6-5 overall and has won three of its last four games. Wagner drops to 7-3.
Seton Hall improves to 10-2 all-time against Wagner and has now won six straight in the series.
Park-Lane has now recorded at least seven assists in seven of the last nine games.
The Pirates improve to 97-38 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era and 50-8 in Walsh against non-conference teams.
With 11 assists today, Park-Lane surpassed 300 for her career and moved past former Pirate Sandy Mitchell into 11^th place on Seton Hall's career assist list.
Seton Hall improves to 6-0 when leading at the half. The Pirates are 5-0 when out-shooting their opponent.
Espinoza-Hunter has now reached double-figures in scoring in 17 straight games dating back to last season.
Espinoza-Hunter's 20-point game is her fifth of the season and the 12^th in her Seton Hall career.
With four made three-pointers tonight, Jackson moved past former Pirates Cecilia Lindqvist and Melissa Langelier into eighth place on the Pirates' career list.
Seton Hall's 45 rebounds today are a season-high.
Seton Hall had two players recorded a double-double in the same game for the first time since Desiree Elmore and Andra Espinoza-Hunter at DePaul last season.
Cooks' six blocks are tied for the third-most in a single-game in Seton Hall history.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, December 31 when it resumes BIG EAST play with a trip to Villanova. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The contest will be streamed by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available to FloSports subscribers.