Seton Hall University
Marquette
WBB Loses Close Game to Marquette
1/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Three players did a bulk of the scoring for Seton Hall offensively against the Golden Eagles, with senior Brittany Morris (Raleigh, N.C.), redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) and sophomore Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) combining to score 45 of Seton Hall's 53 points.
Morris led the team with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, hitting four of her seven three-point shots. Simmons, who has now scored in double figures in nine-straight games, notched 17 points with three assists and four steal and Brown scored in double figures for the third time this season, contributing 10 points to go along with a team-high four assists.
Seton Hall (7-10, 2-2) trailed by as many as nine points, 41-32, with fewer than 14 minutes to play in the second half, but the Pirates mounted a comeback, using a 12-3 run over the next nine minutes to tie the game at 44-44.
The Pirates were 6-for-6 from the free throw line through the first eight minutes of the second period and pulled within five points on a pair of Breanna Jones (Springfield, Va.) makes with 12:18 to play.
Fewer than two minutes later freshman Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) hit a runner in the lane to make it a one-possession game and Simmons made the play of the game to bring the Pirates all the way back and tie the score at 44-44 with just over five minutes remaining.
Simmons stripped Marquette's Brooklyn Pumroy of the ball in the open court and then dove to the floor to secure the basketball and call timeout. Coming out of the huddle it was Simmons making an 18-foot jumper to complete the Seton Hall comeback.
Marquette (9-7, 1-2) briefly regained a three-point lead, only to see Morris drain a wide open three pointer with less than 90 seconds to play, tying the score at 51-51. However, Marquette went 5-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game and secure the narrow three-point win.
Seton Hall forced a season-high 27 turnovers only the Pirates were unable to take care of the basketball on their end, tying their season-high with 24 giveaways. Marquette made just 18 field goals and shot 36.7 percent from the floor, making up for that lack off offensive output with 16-for-21 shooting at the line.
In the first half, after struggling from three-point range in the Pirates' last game at St. John's on Saturday, Morris got on track immediately from downtown against Marquette, draining her first long-range attempt to give the Pirates an early 5-3 lead.
With just over 14 minutes left in the first half Simmons broke a 7-7 tie with a high degree of difficulty lay-in from seemingly directly under the rim, and following a defensive stop Morris burried another three to put the Pirates ahead by five, 12-7.
Marquette bounced back, briefly grabbing a 17-16 lead on a Pumroy layup, only Simmons had the answer on the other end to put the Pirates back in front by one. Sparked by a Pumroy three pointer with a little over four minutes to play the Golden Eagles ended the first half on a 7-0 run and led 26-23 at the half.
Simmons, Brown and Morris combined to score all 23 first-half points for Seton Hall as Simmons led the way with nine points. Seton Hall forced 15 Marquette turnovers in the opening period but the Pirates were not able to convert enough of those extra opportunities into offense, only leading points off turnovers by a 9-5 margin.
Seton Hall returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, when it heads down to the nation's capital to face Georgetown University in the BIG EAST Network Game of the Week. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on SNY and on www.bigeast.org.
