Seton Hall University
UMass-Lowell
Hall Cruises Past UMass Lowell, 97-68
12/7/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2013
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Four players scored in double figures as the Seton Hall University women's basketball team cruised past UMass Lowell, 97-68, on Saturday afternoon at Walsh Gym.
The Pirates' 97 points scored tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in school history and represented the most for the Hall since setting the program record of 102 points against St. Francis (N.Y.) on Dec. 1, 1987.
Seton Hall (7-1) shot 50.7 percent (37-for-73) from the field, with the 37 field goals made tying for the fifth most in team history. The Pirates did break one school record, grabbing 66 rebounds to break the mark of 64 set against Longwood in the season opener.
Sophomore Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) continued her scoring binge, pouring in a team-high 27 points behind 11 field goals and five 3-pointers to go along with 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She has now topped 20 points five times this season and leads the Hall with 21.1 ppg.
Redshirt junior Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) was the second Pirate to compile a double-double, scoring 15 points while setting a new career-high of 12 assists, breaking her old mark of 10. It was the first time Seton Hall saw two players post a double-double in the same game since a 53-52 win at Marshall on Nov. 16, 2009.
Junior Chizoba Ekedigwe (Laurel, Md.) scored a career-high 18 points with eight boards on 9-for-15 shooting and freshman guard Tara Inman (Holmdel, N.J.) reached double figures for the first time in her career with 12 points to go along with six rebounds. Redshirt freshman Sidney Cook (Parkton, N.C.) paced Seton Hall on the glass with a career-high 15 rebound, also scoring six points and recording three assists.
Seton Hall sprinted out to an 11-0 lead, hitting five of its first nine field goal attempts, with five points come from Richardson-Smith in the opening run. Jasmine McRoy finally hit on a 3-point attempt to get UMass Lowell (0-9) on the board, only to see Richardson-Smith come right back and bury another triple 11 seconds later.
The Pirates led by 23 points, 33-10, with 10 minutes remaining in the first half before the River Hawks finally went on a run, outscoring the Hall 16-2 over a span of just 2:14 to cut the lead down to single digits, 35-26, at the 7:26 mark.
Senior Brittany Webb (New York, N.Y.), who finished with nine points and four rebounds, snapped the UMass Lowell hot streak with a pair of free throws to put Seton Hall back up by 11. The Pirates went on to extend the lead back to 21 points behind a 14-2 run the other direction, pulling in front 49-28 on a Richardson-Smith trey and the Hall would lead by 19 at the half.
Seton Hall pushed its lead back to 20 points on an Ekedigwe layup 3:30 into the second half, and the advantage reached 30 for the first time as Simmons drew a foul as she hit a fast-break layup with 10:53 to play; the Pirates led by as many as 34 points late in the game.
Continuing its season-long dominance in the paint, Seton Hall outscored UMass Lowell 58-24 on the interior on Saturday afternoon and as a result of the frenetic pace of play the Pirates scored a season-high 33 points on the fast break. SHU recorded a season-high 25 assists on its 37 field goals.
The Pirates return to action on Monday, Dec. 9, when they travel to Champaign, Ill., to face the University of Illinois. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET) at the State Farm Center.
