Pirates Outlast Xavier in Shootout, 91-86

Friday, February 4

South Orange, N.J.

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

10-10,5-7Big East

Xavier

7-14,2-10Big East

Xavier

Seton Hall

Photo by: Matt Kipp

2/4/2022 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Espinoza-Hunter scores a team-high 20 points, while Sidney Cooks tallied her fifth double-double of the season.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Five Pirates scored at least 14 points, and the Seton Hall women's basketball team outlasted Xavier in an offensive shootout, 91-86, in Walsh Gym on Friday afternoon.

Seton Hall matched its season-high for points, while Xavier had a season-best, and both teams shot at least 50.0% from the field in a contest that featured eight lead changes and eight ties.

For a second straight night, Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) led the Pirates in scoring with 20 points to go with five assists and three rebounds. Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) notched a double-double with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting and a team-high 10 rebounds. Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.), Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) and Curtessia Dean (Monroe, La.) scored 16, 15 and 14 points respectively.

Dean turned in one of her finest efforts as a Pirate with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and four rebounds. Eight of her points came in the fourth quarter.

CURTESSIA DEAN!!! AND ONE!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/AHfUzqFton
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) February 4, 2022

The Story:
The first half was very evenly played with both teams shooting well from the field. Cooks got the Pirates off to a hot start scoring seven of her 18 points in the first quarter and The Hall held a one-point lead after the first 10 minutes.

Trailing by four early in the second quarter, the Pirates went on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a pair of made three-pointers from by Espinoza-Hunter, to give them a 33-27 lead with 4:27 to go before halftime. Xavier, however, struck back with a 10-2 run of their own to re-take a 37-35 advantage with just over two minutes left in first half. Espinoza-Hunter's third made trifecta of the half put the Pirates back in front, and they took a slim 42-41 lead into the break.

Trailing 64-62 seconds into the fourth, Seton Hall started an 11-3 run, and a three-pointer by Jackson gave the Pirates a 73-67 lead with 6:37 left to play and forced a Xavier timeout. The Musketeers, however, methodically cut into the Pirates' advantage and tied the game at 81 with 2:06 remaining. On the Pirates' next possession Dean scored and was fouled to put The Hall back on top. Although she missed the free-throw, she was fouled on Seton Hall's following possession and made one of two shots to put the Pirates on top. 84-81, with 1:34 left. In the final minute, Park-Lane went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to ice the game for The Hall.

Another look at Mya Jackson's scoop and score!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/xRqxB5oIVs
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) February 4, 2022

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 32-for-58 (55.2%) from the floor for the game, while Xavier was 32-for-64 (50.0%). The Hall was 8-for-21 (38.1%) from three-point range, while the Musketeers were just 3-for-7 (42.9%).
Espinoza-Hunter had 20 points, five assists and three rebounds. She was 3-for-8 from three-point range.
Xavier out-rebounded The Hall, 36-to-30, which included a 13-to-8 advantage on the offensive glass and a 12-to-8 lead in second-chance points.
Cooks had a double-double with 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Seton Hall was 19-for-26 (73.1%) from the free-throw line, while Xavier was 19-for-25 (76.0%).
Park-Lane finished with 16 points on the strength of 11-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line. She also had a team-high eight assists.
Seton Hall forced 17 turnovers, while Xavier forced 15.
Jackson tallied 15 points on the strength of 3-for-8 shooting from three-point range. She also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Dean notched a career-high 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and four rebounds.
Junior Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) also had a strong game with eight points, three steals and two blocks.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 10-10 overall and 5-7 in BIG EAST games, while Xavier drops to 7-14 overall and 2-10 in conference play.
Seton Hall improves to 15-3 all-time against Xavier and has now won five straight games in the series.
The Pirates improve to 100-39 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era and 50-31 in Walsh against BIG EAST teams.
Espinoza-Hunter's 20-point game is her ninth of the season and the 16^th since joining Seton Hall.
Seton Hall improves to 9-0 this season when out-shooting its opponent.
Today was the 100^th game played in Cooks' career.
Cooks' double-double is her fifth of the season.
With three made three-pointers today, Jackson moved into a tie with former Pirate Nicole Jimenez for sixth place on Seton Hall's career list with 126.
Park-Lane has collected at least six assists in the last three games and is averaging 8.0 per game over that span.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, February 6 when it returns to the road for a contest in Indianapolis, Ind. at Butler. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET. The contest will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available for FloSports subscribers.