Pirates Fall as Creighton Rallies in Second Half, 83-76

Saturday, March 6

Uncasville, Conn. / Mohegun Sun Arena

9:00 PM

Seton Hall University

14-7,12-5Big East

Creighton

9-10,6-7Big East

Creighton

Seton Hall

Pirates Fall as Creighton Rallies in Second Half, 83-76

3/6/2021 11:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

UNCASVILLE, CONN. – Seton Hall's "big three" of Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.), Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) combined for 60 points, but Creighton rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat the Pirates, 83-76, in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal round on Saturday.

Seton Hall led by as many as 12 points early in the second half, but was out-scored 23-13 in the third quarter, and a 13-1 run gave Creighton its first lead of the game. The Bluejays were 12-for-24 from three-point range in the game, including 4-for-5 in the fourth quarter.

Elmore finished with a team-high 22 points on an efficient 10-for-16 shooting. She also had six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Espinoza-Hunter had 19 points and five rebounds, while Park-Lane tallied 19 points and a career-high six rebounds.

The Story:
Creighton cut The Hall's lead to 28-24, but the Pirates responded with a 6-0 run, highlighted by a step-back three-pointer from the top of the key by Park-Lane, to grab a commanding 34-24 advantage with 4:31 left before halftime. The Bluejays cut The Hall's lead to six, but Elmore found Espinoza-Hunter under the basket for a score with 32 seconds left to send The Hall into the locker room up, 40-32.

The Hall led 48-38, but Creighton connected for three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to cut its deficit to 49-47. Then, Temi Carda hit a pair of free-throws to tie the game at 49, and her layup on the next possession ran the Bluejays run to 13-1 and gave the Bluejays their first lead of the night, 51-49, with 2:38 left in the third quarter.

Trailing 55-53 entering the fourth quarter, the Pirates opened the final 10 minutes with a 6-0 burst to put them back on top, 59-55. Creighton's three-point barrage continued, however, and a trifecta by Dearica Pryor with 4:01 to play, the 11^th of the night for the Bluejays, put them back on top, 66-65.

Down five late, a jumper by Espinoza-Hunter cut The Hall's deficit to three with 1:38 left to go, but Creighton's Emma Ronsiek connected on Creighton's 12^th three-pointer to put the Bluejays up, 75-69. A trifecta by Espinoza-Hunter again cut the Pirates' deficit to three with 32 seconds left, but Seton Hall couldn't get closer.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 30-for-63 (47.6%) from the floor for the game, while Creighton was 28-for-58 (48.3%). The Hall was 5-for-14 (35.7%) from three-point range, while the Bluejays were 12-for-24 (50.0%).
Elmore had a team-high 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and dished out six assists.
Creighton out-rebounded Seton Hall, 41-to-26, which included a 10-to-6 advantage on the offensive boards and a 9-to-4 edge in second-chance points.
Espinoza-Hunter had 19 points to go with five rebounds.
Seton Hall was just 11-for-19 (57.9%) from the free-throw line, while Creighton was 15-for-16 (93.8%).
Park-Lane finished with 19 points to go with a career-high six rebounds.
Seton Hall forced 14 turnovers, while Creighton forced only seven.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 14-7 on the season, and has their five-game win streak snapped. Creighton improves to 9-10 and advances to play second-seeded Marquette in the BIG EAST semifinals.
The Pirates fall to 5-12 all-time against Creighton, and 0-2 against the Bluejays in BIG EAST Tournament play. The Pirates were also bounced from the tournament by Creighton in the 2016 semifinals.
With 22 points today, Elmore passed former Pirate Charlene Thomas into 21^st place on Seton Hall's all-time scoring list. She now has 1,032 career points at Seton Hall.
Elmore has now reached 20 points in a game eight times this season and 16 times in her career. She has now reached double-figures in scoring 17 times this season and 55 times in her career.
Seton Hall forced more turnovers than its opponent for the 18^th time in 21 games this season. The Pirates are now 14-4 in those games.

Up Next:
With the loss, Seton Hall has been eliminated from the 2021 BIG EAST Tournament. It will now wait to see if it is selected for the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Selection Monday is on March 15.