Seton Hall University
Rutgers
Pirates Hold Off Rutgers, 45-42
1/27/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak to Rutgers and was Seton Hall's first win over the Scarlet Knights since a 61-51 victory in South Orange on Feb. 13, 2002.
It was arguably SHU's most significant win since the Pirates' last win over a ranked opponents, which came in the form of a 61-51 victory over No. 19 Marquette on Feb. 20, 2007, a season in which Seton Hall finished 19-12 and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.
Sunday afternoon's nail biter came down to the very end, with Seton Hall bouncing back from a big Rutgers' second half run to regain its advantage and hold off the Scarlet Knights over the final few possessions.
Seton Hall (8-12, 3-4) led nearly from the opening whistle until midway through the second half, scoring on its first possession 27 seconds into the action and jumping out a 6-0 lead fewer than 90 seconds into the game with three different players recording a field goal over that stretch.
Morris, who led all scorers with 11 points in the first half, hit the first of her three first-half three-pointers to put the Pirates up by seven points, 9-2, four minutes into the game, and she hit again from deep four and a half minutes later to help Seton Hall regain its seven-point lead, 14-7.
Seton Hall was in front by as many as eight points in the first half, 18-10, reaching that margin as Simmons nailed a long baseline jumper with eight minutes remaining in the first. The Pirates started the game shooting 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from the field after Simmons's field goal while holding Rutgers to just 4-for-12 shooting in addition to forcing seven Scarlet Knight turnovers.
Rutgers (11-8, 2-4) did make a run, clamping down defensively and pulling within one possession, 19-17, on a Betnijah Laney layup with 51 seconds to play in the first, but Seton Hall answered with a pair of huge three point shots to lead by seven, 25-18, at the break.
Morris nailed her third three of the half with just 43 seconds remaining and then it was Simmons with a dagger from the top of the key as time expired to close out the hot finish to the first half.
In the second period the Pirates' advantage reached as high as nine points when senior Alexandra Maseko (Harare, Zimbabwe) banked in a jump shot with 13:53 to play to stretch the SHU cushion to 34-25.
However, Rutgers answered that basket with a 15-2 run over the next 5:12, taking its first lead of the game, 38-36, on a Laney layup at the 8:51 mark and then moving in front by four, 40-36, thanks to a Monique Clover field goal 28 seconds later.
At that points senior Terry Green (Brentwood, N.Y.) came up with one of the biggest shots of the game for Seton Hall, snapping Rutgers' long run with a three-pointer from the right side to pull her team within one, and Simmons connected on her second trey of the game on Seton Hall's next possession, to once again put the Pirates on top.
Seton Hall never relinquished its lead down the stretch, holding Rutgers to just one field goal over the final 8:23. The Scarlet Knights shot 1-for-12 down the stretch and turned the ball over twice over the final four minutes of action.
A Laney jump shot did knot the score at 42-42, before Morris answered with a baseline jumper of her own with 2:30 remaining to put Seton Hall back in front.
With just 31 seconds remaining, Chelsey Lee fouled Morris near midcourt as she tried to come away with a steal, and Morris hit the front end of a one-and-one to make it a three-point game. Rutgers had two shots to tie the game on its last possession when Laney and Erica Wheeler both missed three-point attempts, preserving the Seton Hall win.
The Pirates shot 42.5 percent from the field and 6-for-15 (40.0 percent) from three-point range, while limiting the Scarlet Knights to just 36.7 percent shooting with 15 turnovers.
Seton Hall improved to 5-1 when shooting north or 40 percent and hit at least six three pointers for the sixth time this season.
Morris now has 830 points in her career and continued to chip away at the Seton Hall all-time three-point field goal record; she shot 3-for-5 from three on Sunday and with 145 career three-pointers needs 12 more to pass Ebonie Williams ('07-10) and Jodi Brooks ('90-'94) from the program record.
Seton Hall returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 30, when it heads to Syracuse, N.Y., to face Syracuse University in the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m.
