Pirates Down Friars Behind Big Second Half, 73-57

Tuesday, January 20

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

14-5,8-2Big East

Providence

10-11,3-7Big East

Providence

Seton Hall

1/20/2026 10:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Savannah Catalon had a game-high 19 points and four steals.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Five Pirates scored at least nine points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team turned a two-point battle at the half into a 73-57 victory on Tuesday in Walsh Gymnasium.

Mired in a defensive affair for the first half, Seton Hall's offense broke out with a 30-point third quarter, and a 14-2 run catapulted it to victory.

Junior Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) had a game-high 19 points, while Mariana Valenzuela (Mazatlan, Mexico) added 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Zahara Bishop (Minneapolis, Minn.), the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Jordana Codio (Winter Garden, Fla.) finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

Shailyn Pinkney (East Hartford, Conn.), thrust into the starting point guard role due to an injury to Jada Eads, collected a career-high nine assists with only one turnover.

THE STORY:
The Pirates got off to a strong start defensively, forcing eight Providence turnovers in the first quarter, but the offense didn't get going until late. Leading 11-10, back-to-back buckets by Savanna Jones (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Ja'Kahla Craft (Elk River, Minn.) with under a minute left sent The Hall into the second up, 15-10.

Neither team could establish an offensive foothold or go on a sustained run in the second quarter. In an ugly first half, the teams combined for 21 turnovers and 18 fouls in the first 20 minutes. The Pirates took a 28-26 lead into the break.

With the score tied at 39, the Pirates turned up their intensity on both ends of the floor. The Hall outscored Providence, 19-5 over the final 5:23 of the quarter to take a commanding 58-44 lead into the fourth. The Hall erupted for 30 points in the third, led by Valenzuela's eight points and seven by Craft.

In the fourth quarter, Seton Hall's lead grew to as many as 20 points on a layup by Valenzuela with 4:02 left in the contest. From there, the Pirates' advantage was never fewer than 15 points.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 24-for-53 (45.3%) from the floor for the game, while Providence was 22-for-51 (43.1%). The Hall was 8-for-21 (38.1%) from three-point range, while the Friars were 4-for-14 (28.6%).
Catalon had a game-high 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor and 8-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line. She also had four steals, three rebounds and drew 10 Providence fouls.
The Hall out-rebounded Providence, 33-to-29, which included a 6-to-5 edge on the offensive glass.
Valenzuela had 15 points on the strength of 3-for-7 from three-point range, to go with a team-high eight rebounds and two steals.
Seton Hall was 17-for-20 (85.0%) from the free-throw line, while Providence was 9-for-14 (64.3%).
Bishop had 12 points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers, while the Friars forced 15. The Hall had a 20-to-11 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Codio finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Craft had nine points, three rebounds and two steals.
Pinkney finished with a career-high nine assists, only one turnover, four points and two steals.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall improves to 14-5 overall and 8-2 in the BIG EAST, while Providence drops to 10-11 overall and 3-7 in conference play.
The Pirates are now 50-31 all-time against Providence and have now won the last five games and 13 of the last 14 games in the series.
Seton Hall improves to 150-57 in home games under head coach Anthony Bozzella, and 73-42 against BIG EAST opponents in Walsh Gym.
It's the 11^th time this season that The Hall has out-rebounded its opponent, improving to 10-1 in those games.
Seton Hall's 30 points in the third quarter tonight is tied for the most scored in a single-quarter this season.
This was the sixth time this season that Seton Hall has forced at least 20 turnovers and the 10^th time it's collected at least 10 steals.
The Hall improves to a perfect 10-0 when out-shooting its opponent.
Catalon has now collected at least three steals in 14 of 19 games so far this season.
Catalon drew at least 10 fouls in a single-game for the fourth time this season.
Earlier in the day, Seton Hall announced that All-BIG EAST First Team point guard Jada Eads (Orlando, Fla.) will miss the remainder of the season due to an injury she suffered in Seton Hall's victory over DePaul on Saturday.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will be back in action on Sunday, January 25 when it returns to historic Walsh Gymnasium to take on defending champion and top-ranked Connecticut. Tip-time is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.