Codio, Pirates Hold Off Xavier to Clinch Bye, 64-55

Wednesday, February 18

Cintas Center / Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 PM

Seton Hall University

18-8,12-5Big East

Xavier

11-15,4-13Big East

Seton Hall

Xavier

Photo by: Justin DiPietro

Codio, Pirates Hold Off Xavier to Clinch Bye, 64-55

2/18/2026 9:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

CINCINNATI – Senior Jordana Codio (Winter Garden, Fla.) matched her career-high with 22 points and the Seton Hall women's basketball team held off a physical Xavier team, 64-55, on Wednesday to clinch a first-round by in next month's BIG EAST Tournament.

Seemingly in control with a 15-point lead with 1:49 left in the third quarter, Seton Hall went scoreless for the next 9:20 and didn't score again until Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) scored on a layup with 2:29 left in the fourth. Fortunately, The Hall closed the game with a 9-3 run.

Codio matched her career-high with 22 points on an efficient 10-for-12 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds.

Graduate student Mariana Valenzuela (Mazatlan, Mexico) collected her second straight double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Catalon had 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Zahara Bishop (Minneapolis, Minn.) had nearly a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

THE STORY:
Seton Hall's defense was staunch from the get-go. Trailing 5-4, The Hall went on a 12-0 run, and a made three-pointer by Valenzuela gave the Pirates a 16-5 lead with 3:32 left in the first quarter. After going scoreless for 5:22, Xavier closed the quarter with an 8-2 run. The Hall led, 18-13, after 10 minutes having forced eight Musketeers turnovers.

Xavier cut its deficit to three points, 24-21, but The Hall answered with a 9-0 run, and when Catalon found a streaking Codio on the fast-break for easy bucket, the Pirates went up, 33-21, with 3:58 to play before halftime. The Musketeers closed out the first half with an 8-2 burst to cut their deficit to six points at the break. Seton Hall forced 13 first-half turnovers, but the Musketeers drained seven three-pointers to remain close.

Leading 46-38, The Hall went on a 7-0 burst, and a pair of made free-throws by Catalon gave it a 53-38 lead with 2:28 left in the third quarter. The Hall took a 55-43 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Hall missed its first nine shots of the fourth quarter as the Musketeers opened the final frame with a 9-0 burst to cut their deficit to 55-52 with 4:09 remaining. With 2:29 left in the quarter, the Pirates finally broke through with their first points of the fourth. It spearheaded an 8-0 run, highlighted by a made three-pointer from Valenzuela with 49 seconds remaining that put the game away.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 23-for-60 (38.3%) from the floor for the game, while Xavier was 21-for-53 (39.6%). The Hall was 4-for-22 (18.2%) from three-point range, while the Musketeers were 12-for-29 (41.4%).
Codio tied her career-high with 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds.
The Hall out-rebounded Xavier, 40-to-30, which included a 13-to-5 edge on the offensive glass and a 8-to-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Catalon had a strong all-around game with 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Seton Hall was 14-for-19 (73.7%) from the free-throw line, while Xavier was 1-for-4 (25.0%).
Valenzuela had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Seton Hall forced 22 turnovers, while the Musketeers forced 15. The Hall had a 22-to-7 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Bishop finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall improves to 18-8 overall and 12-5 in the BIG EAST, while Xavier drops to 11-15 overall and 4-13 in conference play.
The Pirates improve to 26-3 all-time against Xavier and have now won 16 straight in the series.
Tonight's victory clinches a first-round bye for Seton Hall in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament. The Hall cannot finish lower than fifth place in the final standings. It's the second straight year and the third time in the six years that Mohegan Sun has hosted the tournament that the Pirates have earned a first-round bye.
It's the 14^th time this season that The Hall has out-rebounded its opponent, improving to 13-1 in those games.
Seton Hall has now pulled down at least 40 rebounds in a single-game 11 times this season. The Hall accomplished the feat only six times all of last year.
Valenzuela's double-double is the fourth of her career, all recorded this season.
With five steals tonight, Catalon moves past former Pirate legend Dana Wynne into 10^th place on Seton Hall's career list with 190. She also moves into a tie with Phyllis Mangina for 10^th most in a single-season with 74.
This was the ninth time this season that Seton Hall has forced at least 20 turnovers and the 11^th time that it has collected at least 10 steals.
With four made free throws tonight, Catalon moves past Dana Wynne into 12^th place on the single-season list with 111.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will be back in action on Sunday, February 22 when it returns to historic Walsh Gymnasium to host local, BIG EAST rival St. John's on Senior Day. Tip-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.