Pirates Rally to Edge St. John's in Thriller, 84-79

Wednesday, January 19

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

8-7,3-4Big East

St. John's

5-11,1-5Big East

St. John's (NY)

Seton Hall

Photo by: Matt Kipp

Pirates Rally to Edge St. John's in Thriller, 84-79

1/19/2022 10:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Lauren Park-Lane scores 31 points including the game-winning three-point play with 40 seconds left.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) and Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) combined for 56 points as the Seton Hall women's basketball team erased a 13-point deficit to defeat St. John's, 84-79, on Wednesday.

With the game tied, Park-Lane had a go-ahead three-point play with 40 seconds left, and then came up with a steal on the Red Storm's next possession to seal the Pirates' victory.

Park-Lane tallied a game-high 31 points to go with eight assists and three rebounds, becoming the first player in Seton Hall history to score at least 30 points in back-to-back games. She had 30 at Providence on Sunday. Espinoza-Hunter had a season-high 25 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Both Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) and Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) narrowly missed recording double-doubles. Cooks finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Bembry tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

The Story:
Seton Hall led 5-4 early in the first quarter, but St. John's went on a 10-0 run to grab a 14-5 advantage with 4:02 left in the opening frame. A layup by Park-Lane cut the Pirate deficit to 16-9, but the Red Storm scored the final five points of the quarter to lead 21-9 after 10 minutes.

Seton Hall's finally shots started to fall in the second quarter. Trailing 34-21, the Pirates held St. John's scoreless for the next 3:31 and went on a 14-0 run, which included 10 points by Espinoza-Hunter. A pair of free-throws by Park-Lane with 2:22 to go before the half gave The Hall a 35-34 lead. The Red Storm found its offense late in the half and took a 39-37 lead into the break.

Cooks took over in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the third frame alone. Down 46-42, The Hall went on a 12-4 run, highlighted by back-to-back baseline jumpers from Bembry and capped by a three-pointer from Espinoza-Hunter, which gave the Pirates a 56-52 lead with 3:39 left in the third.

After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, the Pirates took control in the final two minutes. Trailing 77-74, Park-Lane drained a huge three-pointer with 1:55 to go to tie the game. After St. John's retook the lead, 79-77, Park-Lane slashed through the lane, made the awkward layup and was fouled. The ensuing free-throw gave The Hall an 80-79 advantage with just 40 seconds left. On St. John's next possession, Park-Lane swiped the ball away from St. John's Unique Drake, and Espinoza-Hunter came up with the ball. The Pirates then iced the game on the free-throw line.

LP AND ONE!!! #HALLin pic.twitter.com/pzgLkGnjzt
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) January 20, 2022

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 31-for-65 (47.7%) from the floor for the game, while St. John's was 29-for-62 (46.8%). The Hall was 7-for-20 (35.0%) from three-point range, while the Red Storm were 7-for-23 (30.4%).
Park-Lane had a season-high 31 points to go with eight assists and three rebounds.
The Hall out-rebounded St. John's, 41-to-27, which included an 11-to-4 advantage on the offensive glass and a 10-to-6 lead in second-chance points.
Espinoza-Hunter notched 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Seton Hall was 15-for-17 (88.2%) from the free-throw line, while St. John's was 14-for-16 (87.5%).
Cooks recorded 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
Seton Hall forced eight turnovers, while St. John's forced 11 in a mostly clean game.
Bembry had 10 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

"... back-to-back thirty-balls is crazy, you know.... I'm a problem, really..."

Enjoy all of Lauren Park-Lane's post-game interview with Meghan Caffrey.#HALLin pic.twitter.com/WobgRqqEzq
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) January 20, 2022

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 8-7 overall and 3-4 in BIG EAST games, while St. John's drops to 5-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
Seton Hall improves to 36-49 all-time against St. John's and has now won three of the last four meetings.
Park-Lane becomes the first player in Seton Hall history to record at least 30 points in back-to-back games. It's the eighth time this season that Park-Lane has reached at least 20 points in a game, and the 14^th time of her career.
With 31 points tonight, Park-Lane surpassed the 800-point mark for her career.
Seton Hall improves to 7-0 this season when out-shooting its opponent.
The Pirates improve to 98-38 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era and 48-30 in Walsh against BIG EAST teams.
Espinoza-Hunter's 20-point game is her seventh of the season and the 14^th in her Seton Hall career.
With eight assists today, Park-Lane moved past former Pirate Leslie Fairbanks into eighth place all-time with 334 career assists.
With 10 points today, Bembry reached the 200-point mark for her career.
Bembry is averaging 3.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season, but in Seton Hall's two games against St. John's, she's averaging 12.0 points 10.5 rebounds per game.
Seton Hall shot 47.7% from the floor against St. John's, its third-highest total of the year. Remarkably, they shot 55.1% over the final three quarters.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, January 21 when it returns to action at No. 9 Connecticut. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The contest will be televised by SNY.