Eads, Defense Fuels Pirates in BIG EAST Opener, 51-40

Saturday, December 21

South Orange, N.J.

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

9-3,1-0Big East

Providence

7-7,0-1Big East

Providence

Seton Hall

Eads, Defense Fuels Pirates in BIG EAST Opener, 51-40

12/21/2024 4:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Freshman Jada Eads (Orlando, Fla.) had a career-high 25 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team defeated Providence, 51-40, in the BIG EAST Conference opener for both teams on Saturday in Walsh Gym.

The Pirates' suffocating defense held the Friars to just 40 points and forced a season-high 30 turnovers.

Eads had a game-high 25 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor and 11-for-15 shooting from the free-throw line. She collected her career-high in points for a third straight game. Faith Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.) had 18 points to go with five rebounds and five steals.

Kaydan Lawson (Cleveland, Ohio), who made her return to the court after missing seven games with an injury, erupted for eight points, a team-best nine rebounds, three assists, four steals and a monster block with 1:49 remaining in the game.

THE STORY:
The Pirates had trouble offensively early and committed six turnovers in the first 4:30, but their defense was stifling. Down 5-0, The Hall went on a 13-0 run, capped by a three-pointer from Masonius, to give it an eight-point advantage with 2:06 left in the first quarter. Providence responded with seven straight points to close the quarter. The Hall held a 13-12 advantage after 10 minutes despite committing 10 first-quarter turnovers.

Both teams turned up their defensive intensity even higher in the second quarter with the teams combining for just two made baskets in their first 15 attempts. Providence took a 21-18 lead into halftime. The Pirates shot just 23 percent from the floor in the first half and the teams combined to commit 27 turnovers.

Trailing 27-23, the Pirates closed the third quarter with a 6-0 burst to take a 29-27 lead into the fourth. The Hall held Providence scoreless for the final 4:46 of the third quarter.

Clinging to a 38-37 lead with 5:50 left in the contest, The Hall went on a 11-0 run over the next 5:17 to grab a commanding 49-37 lead with only 33 seconds remaining. Eads scored 12 of her game-high 25 points in the final 10 quarter.

KAYDAN LAWSON SAYS... NOT IN MY HOUSE!!!#HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/tLGwYw9lPV
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 21, 2024

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 17-for-56 (30.4%) from the floor for the game, while Providence was 16-for-45 (35.6%). The Hall was 4-for-19 (21.1%) from three-point range, while the Friars were 5-for-14 (35.7%).
Eads had a career-high 25 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-6 from three-point range. She was also 11-for-15 from the free-throw line and had five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Both teams pulled down 35 rebounds, but the Pirates had a huge 13-to-7 edge on the offensive glass and a 15-to-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Masonius had 18 points on the strength of 2-for-4 shooting from three-point range. She also had five rebounds and five steals.
Seton Hall was 13-for-19 (68.4%) from the free-throw line, while Providence was 3-for-5 (60.0%).
Lawson tallied eight points, a game-high nine rebounds, three assists and four steals. She was also a game-best +23 in plus/minus.
Seton Hall forced 30 turnovers, while the Friars forced 17. The Hall had a 16-to-5 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Providence's 40 points today are the fewest scored by a Seton Hall BIG EAST opponent since Butler scored only 39 against The Hall in the opening game of the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall opens BIG EAST play with a victory and improves to 9-3 on the season, while Providence falls to 0-1 in the conference and 7-7 overall.
The Hall is now 47-31 all-time against the Friars.
Eads has collected a new career-high in scoring in three consecutive games.
Today was the 121^st career game played for Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.), which ties her with former Pirate great Texlin Quinney for third-most in Seton Hall history.
Seton Hall's five points scored in the second quarter is tied for the third-fewest in a single-quarter in program history.
The Hall has now forced at least 20 turnovers in eight of 12 games this year.
Seton Hall forced Providence into 30 turnovers, a season-high.
Seton Hall has now forced more turnovers than its opponent in 11 of 12 games this season.
With three steals today, Wright moved past former Pirate Jadis Rhoden into 10^th place on Seton Hall's career list with 184.
The Pirates improve to 134-50 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era. Furthermore, the Pirates are now 72-13 against non-conference opponents at home.
Only three players scored for the Pirates today against Providence.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, December 29 when it travels to Indianapolis, Ind. for a game at Butler. Tip time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live by the BIG EAST Digital Network and available for FloCollege subscribers. As always, 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net will also carry the contest.