Pirates Advance with Stout Second Half Defense, 58-39

Friday, March 4

Uncasville, Conn. / Mohegan Sun Arena

4:00 PM

Seton Hall University

18-11,12-8Big East

#11 Butler

1-27,0-18Big East

Butler

Seton Hall

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Pirates Advance with Stout Second Half Defense, 58-39

3/4/2022 7:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME BOX SCORE (.pdf)

The Hall will now play third-seeded Creighton in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.

UNCASVILLE, CONN. – Junior Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) scored a game-high 21 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team held Butler to just 15 second half points in a 58-39 victory in round one of the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament on Friday.

Tied at the half, the Pirates limited Butler to just four points and 2-for-9 shooting in a game-changing third quarter. The Hall out-scored the Bulldogs, 16-to-4, in the third, scoring the first 11 points of the second half.

Park-Lane had a game-high 21 points with three rebounds and two steals. Classmate Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.

The Pirates' frontcourt duo of Sidney Cooks (Kenosha, Wis.) and Mya Bembry (West Orange, N.J.) had similar strong games. Cooks had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Bembry totaled 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Story:
Seton Hall raced out to a 9-0 lead to begin the game, but then its offense went cold. The Pirates connected on only one of their next nine shots to allow Butler to pull to within three, 12-9. Park-Lane hit a jumper just before the buzzer and the Pirates held a 14-9 advantage after the first 10 minutes.

The Pirates' shooting woes continued as they shot just 27.8% in the second quarter. A 10-2 Bulldogs run gave them their first lead of the game, 24-22, with 1:06 left before halftime. A Cooks jumper tied the score and sent the teams into the locker room tied at 24. The score was knotted at the half despite the Pirates being out-shot 41.7%-to-30.6%.

The Hall was a new team after the break, scoring the first 11 points of the second half, which included a pair of three-pointers by Park-Lane, giving it a 35-24 lead with 4:39 left in the third quarter. Seton Hall held the Bulldogs to just 2-for-9 shooting in the third quarter and led, 40-28, entering the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the Pirates continued their improved shooting, connecting on 8-of-11 shots in the final 10 minutes. Up 40-30, The Hall went on an 8-0 run, and a jumper by Cooks gave it a commanding 48-30 advantage with 4:28 left to play. Butler couldn't draw closer than a 15-point deficit the rest of the way.

Be sure to check out the VIDEO RECAP of tonight's first-round victory over Butler... 👇🏻👇🏾👇🏻👇🏾👇🏻👇🏾#HALLin pic.twitter.com/Hq22FMJM7A
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 5, 2022

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 25-for-67 (37.3%) from the floor for the game, while Butler was 16-for-48 (33.3%). The Hall was 4-for-17 (23.5%) from three-point range, while the Bulldogs were 6-for-17 (35.3%).
Park-Lane had a game-high 21 points on the strength of 3-for-5 from three-point range. She also had three rebounds and two steals.
The Hall out-rebounded Butler, 39-to-37, which included a 15-to-10 advantage on the offensive glass and a 11-to-8 lead in second-chance points.
Jackson had just three points, but erupted for a career-high 10 rebounds to go with three assists.
Seton Hall was 4-for-6 (66.7%) from the free-throw line, while Butler was 1-for-5 (20.0%).
Cooks had 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Seton Hall forced 20 turnovers, while Butler forced only six. The Pirates had an 18-to-6 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Bembry finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Graduate student Andra Espinoza-Hunter (Ossining, N.Y.) registered seven points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Andra Espinoza-Hunter comes up with the steal, goes the length of the court, makes the shot AND GETS FOULED!!#HALLin pic.twitter.com/Dr5qvES9NG
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) March 4, 2022

News & Notes:

Seton Hall improves to 18-11 overall and has now won 10 of its last 11 games, while Butler's season comes to an end at 1-27.
The Pirates improve to 15-3 all-time against Butler and have now won nine straight in the series.
The Hall is now 26-37 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games. The Pirates' 26 wins is tied for the fourth-most in conference history. Seton Hall is now 2-0 all-time against Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Seton Hall improves to 8-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponent.
Park-Lane's 20-point game is her 12^th this season and the 18^th of her career.
With three made three-pointers today, Park-Lane became the 14^th player in Seton Hall history to make 100 career three-pointers.
Butler's four points in the third quarter is tied for the second-fewest allowed in a single-quarter in Seton Hall history. The Hall also held Providence this year to just four points in the fourth quarter on Jan. 16.
The Hall's six turnovers today is tied for the fewest committed this season. The Pirates also had only six turnovers the last time they played Butler on Feb. 22.
The Hall forced 20 turnovers today. It's the fifth time this year the Pirates have forced at least 20 in a game.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action tomorrow when it continues play at the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The six-seeded Pirates will now face third-seeded Creighton in the quarterfinals at 9:30 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised nationally on FS2.