Park-Lane, Pirates Clamp Down Late to Advance in WNIT

Thursday, March 17

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

20-12,12-8Big East

Fairleigh Dickinson

19-12,14-3NEC

Fairleigh Dickinson

Seton Hall

Photo by: Matt Kipp

Park-Lane, Pirates Clamp Down Late to Advance in WNIT

3/17/2022 10:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

The Hall holds FDU scoreless in the fourth quarter as a 28-3 Pirate run enables them to pull away.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team held Fairleigh Dickinson scoreless for the fourth quarter and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) erupted for a game-high 29 points in the Pirates' 67-45 victory over FDU in the opening round of the WNIT on Thursday.

The Pirates trailed by three with 3:36 left in the third quarter, but outscored the Knights, 28-3, for the remainder of the game. In the fourth quarter, The Hall held FDU to 0-for-12 shooting from the floor, turning a close six-point contest after three quarters into a 22-point rout.

The victory is Seton Hall's first in the WNIT since edging Princeton, 75-74, on March 23, 2014. The Hall will now face either Stony Brook or VCU in round two.

Park-Lane scored 20 of her game-high 29 points in the second half and was 12-for-20 from the floor. Senior Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) collected her team-leading 11^th double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Story:
The Pirates fell behind early as Fairleigh Dickinson went 3-for-6 from three-point range in the first quarter and out-rebounded the Pirates, 15-5. A layup by Cooks gave The Hall an 11-10 lead, but the Knights closed out the first with an 11-2 run to claim a 21-13 lead after 10 minutes.

The Hall turned up its defensive intensity in the second, forcing six FDU turnovers and cutting into the Knights' lead. Down 23-15, the Pirates went on a 9-0 run, and another layup by Cooks gave them a 24-23 lead with 4:33 to go before halftime. Fairleigh Dickinson charged back, however, with an 8-0 run of their own to jump back ahead, 32-24. With under a minute before the break, a three-pointer by Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) cut the Knights' lead to 32-29, and then she stole the ball and scored on a breakaway layup to cut The Hall's deficit to one point.

Down 42-39 with 3:36 left in the third, the Pirates closed the game on a remarkable 28-3 run. Over the final 13:36 of the contest, Seton Hall held the Knights to just 1-for-17 shooting from the floor and 0-for-11 from three-point range. Park-Lane scored nine points in the fourth quarter to fuel The Hall's offense.

AMARI WRIGHT WTH THE STEAL, THE SCORE AND ONE!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/k4paZhXZKQ
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 18, 2022

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the floor for the game, while Fairleigh Dickinson was 17-for-61 (27.9%). The Hall was 5-for-21 (23.8%) from three-point range, while the Knights were 5-for-25 (20.0%).
Park-Lane had a game-high 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting to go with three assists.
FDU edged The Hall in rebounding, 38-to-37, which included a 14-to-6 advantage on the offensive glass and a 11-to-7 lead in second-chance points.
Cooks had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Seton Hall was 6-for-9 (66.7%) from the free-throw line, while Fairleigh Dickinson was 6-for-10 (60.0%).
Junior Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) had a strong all-around game with six points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Seton Hall forced 18 turnovers, while FDU forced 15. The Hall had a 16-to-7 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Jackson finished with nine points and three steals.
Sophomore Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) was a spark plug off the bench with six points, two rebounds and a steal.

Mya Jackson rips off five points and a steal in 16 seconds at the end of the first half!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/iQYg3ULGz2
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 17, 2022

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 20-12 overall, while Fairleigh Dickinson's season comes to an end with a final record of 19-12.
The Pirates improve to 14-2 all-time against the Knights and have now won four straight in the series.
The Hall is now 5-6 all-time in the WNIT and wins its first-round contest for the first time since 2014.
This was the second time that Seton Hall has played on St. Patrick's Day. The Pirates fell to Hofstra in the second round of the WNIT on March 17, 2007.
The Pirates improve to 104-40 in Walsh Gym during the Anthony Bozzella era and 51-8 in Walsh against non-conference opponents.
Seton Hall has now reached 20 wins for the 11^th time in program history and the fourth time during the Bozzella era.
The Pirates shutout of FDU in the fourth quarter is a program first. The prior fewest points allowed by Seton Hall in a single-quarter was three, set at Georgetown in the first quarter on Feb. 22, 2019.
With 29 points tonight, Park-Lane surpassed the 1,100 career points milestone for her career. Her 20-point game is her 14^th this season and the 20^th of her career.
Park-Lane's 29 points tonight is most scored by a Pirate in a WNIT game all-time. It's the second-most in Seton Hall post-season history, trailing only Jodi Brooks' 30 points against Vermont in the NCAA Tournament on March 16, 1994.
Cooks reached double-figures in scoring for the 13^th straight game, which leads the team.
Cooks' double-double is her team-leading 11th of the season.

Up Next:
With the victory, Seton Hall advances to the second round of the WNIT and will face the winner of Friday's first-round matchup between Stony Brook and VCU. The date and location of the Pirates' contest is still to be determined.