Valenzuela Erupts as Pirates Rally to Edge Marquette, 64-61

Wednesday, January 14

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

12-5,6-2Big East

Marquette

11-6,5-3Big East

Marquette

Seton Hall

Valenzuela Erupts as Pirates Rally to Edge Marquette, 64-61

1/14/2026 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Graduate student Mariana Valenzuela (Mazatlan, Mexico) scored a career-high 26 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Marquette, 64-61, in historic Walsh Gymnasium on Wednesday.

The Hall trailed 20-5 to start the game, but used a 17-0 second-quarter run to claw back into the contest. The Pirates shot just 31.3 percent from the field, but forced 19 Marquette turnovers and pulled down 15 offensive rebounds.

Valenzuela was 10-for-21 from the field, including 4-for-9 from three-point range to go with seven rebounds and three blocks in a career-best performance. Ten of her game-high 26 points came in the fourth quarter.

Junior Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) finished with 12 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter. She was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and drew 10 fouls.

THE STORY:
Bishop drained a three-pointer only 13 seconds into the game, but the Golden Eagles responded with a game-changing 20-2 run over the next 9:02. Halle Vice, who was listed as questionable coming into the contest, scored 11 of Marquette's 20 points during the run. Seton Hall was just 4-for-24 from the floor in the first-quarter and trailed 20-9 after 10 minutes.

Down 20-5 with 46 seconds left in the first quarter, the Pirates offense woke up, going on a 17-0 burst, and a driving layup by Valenzuela with 2:15 left before halftime gave them a 22-20 advantage. Marquette scored the last five points of the quarter to take a 25-22 lead into the break. The Pirates trailed by only three at halftime despite shooting just 25.7 percent from the floor in the first half.

Trailing 39-31, The Hall went on a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of made three-pointers by Ja'Kahla Craft (Elk River, Minn.) to jump back ahead, 41-39, with 1:02 left in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter featured four ties and four lead changes as the teams jockeyed for an advantage. Behind 49-46, The Hall scored five straight points to take a 51-49 lead with 5:07 remaining and never trailed again. With the game tied at 54 a driving layup by Valenzuela gave Seton Hall the lead with just 2:31 remaining and the Pirates were able to ice the game on the free-throw line.

Look at that ball movement by the Pirates!! Ja'Kahla Craft ties the game with the trifecta!!#HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🔵⚪ @ESPN pic.twitter.com/t5jOy0W0jE
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) January 15, 2026

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 20-for-64 (31.3%) from the floor for the game, while Marquette was 23-for-56 (41.1%). The Hall was 7-for-24 (29.2%) from three-point range, while the Golden Eagles were 7-for-21 (33.3%).
Valenzuela had a career-high 26 points on 10-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-9 shooting from three-point range, with seven rebounds and three blocks.
Marquette out-rebounded The Hall, 42-to-35, but the Pirates had a 15-to-12 edge on the offensive glass.
Catalon had 12 points on the strength of 10-for-10 shooting from the free-throw line to go with three rebounds, and two steals. She also drew a game-high 10 fouls.
Seton Hall was 17-for-18 (94.4%) from the free-throw line, while Marquette was 8-for-9 (88.9%).
Craft had six points and six rebounds off the bench.
Seton Hall forced 19 turnovers, while the Golden Eagles forced seven. The Hall had a 17-to-7 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Sophomore Jada Eads (Orlando, Fla.) had six assists and no turnovers to go with four points, four rebounds and three steals.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall improves to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the BIG EAST, while Marquette drops to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
The Pirates are 13-21 all-time against Marquette and have now won two of the last three games in the series.
Seton Hall improves to 149-57 in home games under head coach Anthony Bozzella, and 72-42 against BIG EAST opponents in Walsh Gym.
With two steals today, Catalon moves into a tie with former Pirate Gloria Bradley for 16^th place on Seton Hall's career list with 168.
This was Catalon's fifth career game with a perfect free-throw percentage on at least 10 attempts. Only two other players in Seton Hall history have accomplished the feat once.
Valenzuela reached 20 points for the fifth time in her career, all this season.
Catalon drew at least 10 fouls in a single-game for the third time this season.
Seton Hall's 31.3 field goal percentage is its lowest in a victory this season.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will be back in action on Saturday, January 17 when it heads to Chicago to take on BIG EAST foe, DePaul. Tip-time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.