Pirates Hold Off VCU to Reach WNIT Sweet 16

Monday, March 21

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

21-12,12-8Big East

Virginia Commonwealth

16-12,9-5Atlantic 10

VCU

Seton Hall

Photo by: Matt Kipp

3/21/2022 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

The Pirates will next face Drexel on Thursday, March 24 in Walsh Gym.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Junior Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) and senior Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) combined for 41 points and the Pirates held off a furious late VCU rally as the Seton Hall Women's Basketball team held on for a 70-67 victory over Virginia Commonwealth in the second round of the WNIT on Monday.

Seton Hall advances to play Drexel in the WNIT Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Walsh Gymnasium.

The Pirates led for the majority of the game, and boosted their advantage to as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, but had to hold on late as VCU went on a 9-0 run in the final two minutes.

Park-Lane finished with a team-best 22 points to go with six assists, two steals and only one turnover. Cooks had 19 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) was a third Pirate to reach double-figures in scoring. She had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Story:
The opening quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Pirates getting most of their offense from Cooks and a pair of three-pointers by Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio). Down 13-12, Curtessia Dean (Monroe, La.) drilled a trifecta to give The Hall a 15-13 lead with 1:24 left in the first. Dean was fouled at the buzzer, and connected on both free-throws to give The Hall a 19-15 advantage after 10 minutes.

Park-Lane took over in the second quarter, scoring 16 of The Hall's 19 points. Up 21-20, the Pirates scored seven unanswered points to grab a 28-20 lead with 4:47 left before the break. After the Rams cut their deficit to four, Park-Lane drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to give The Hall a 38-28 lead with 1:39 left before halftime. VCU's Sarah Te-Biasu hit a three-pointer right before halftime to send the Pirates into the locker room up, 38-31.

Leading by eight, the Pirates went on a 5-0 spurt on a layup by Cooks and a three-pointer by Park-Lane to give them a 49-36 lead with 3:57 left in the third quarter. The Hall shot 50.0% from the floor in the third, compared to just 26.3% for VCU, and took a 56-47 lead into the fourth.

Already leading by 10 points, the Pirates went on a 6-0 run, and a layup by Cooks with 6:05 left to play gave them their largest lead of the game, 65-49. Another bucket in the post by Cooks with exactly 2:00 remaining boosted The Hall's lead to 12 points, 70-58, but it was the last score of the game for the Pirates. VCU made a furious late run, scoring nine unanswered points in 1:26, but the Pirates were able to hold off the Rams in the final 34 seconds.

UNCONSCIOUS!! That's her fourth trifecta of the quarter!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/58YtmDw3a0
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 21, 2022

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 24-for-57 (42.1%) from the floor for the game, while VCU was 25-for-68 (36.8%). The Hall was 10-for-24 (41.7%) from three-point range, while the Rams were 8-for-32 (25.0%).
Park-Lane had a team-best 22 points, on the strength of 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range, to go with six assists and two steals.
VCU edged Seton Hall on the glass, 40-to-39, which included a 15-to-8 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 10-to-2 lead in second-chance points.
Cooks finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Seton Hall was 12-for-17 (70.6%) from the free-throw line, while Virginia Commonwealth was 9-for-14 (64.3%).
Espinoza-Hunter had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Seton Hall forced 10 turnovers, while VCU forced 13.
Junior Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 21-12 overall, while VCU's season comes to an end with a final record of 16-12.
The Pirates improve to 3-1 all-time against the Rams.
The Hall is now 6-6 all-time in the WNIT and advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2014 season.
The Pirates improve to 105-40 in Walsh Gym during the Anthony Bozzella era and 52-8 in Walsh against non-conference opponents.
Seton Hall's 21 wins are its most since collecting 23 victories during the 2015-16 season.
Park-Lane's 20-point game is her 15^th this season and the 21^st of her career.
Cooks reached double-figures in scoring for the 14^th straight game, which leads the team.
With 13 points tonight, Espinoza-Hunter surpassed 800 career points in a Seton Hall uniform.
With 22 points tonight, Park-Lane moved past former Pirates Patti Jaworski, Ebonie Williams, Arminda Moreno and Monique Blake into 17^th place on Seton Hall's career scoring list.
With two steals today, Park-Lane surpassed the 100-mark for her career.
With 11 rebounds tonight, Bembry reached the 300 in a Seton Hall uniform.
Park-Lane played all 40 minutes for the 15^th time this year. That includes all 45 minutes in an overtime victory against Toledo and all 50 minutes in a double-overtime loss to Creighton.
Park-Lane's 16 points in the second quarter is tied for the second-most points in a single-quarter in Seton Hall history.

Up Next:
With the victory, Seton Hall advances to the Sweet 16 round of the WNIT and will next host Drexel in Walsh Gymnasium on Thursday, March 24. Tip time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.