Seton Hall University
USF
WBB Comeback at USF Just Short
2/17/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Behind an amazing stretch of long-range shooting the Pirates cut what was at one time a 29-point USF lead all the way down to eight points with fewer two minutes remaining but were unable to come closer down the stretch.
The Seton Hall (8-17, 3-9) run was solely a result of hot three-point shooting. The Pirates nailed nine three pointers in the second half, and their final eight field goals of the game were all from long distance, with Seton Hall knocking down eight treys over a span of just 6:45.
Leading the charge was Morris, who scored 22 of her 23 points in the second half, and she knocked down six three-pointers in the process. That is where the record-breaking day begins, as Morris is now Seton Hall's all-time three-point leader with 159 threes in her career.
It was her third 20-point game of the season, and the first time in her career she knocked down six three-pointers, which ties for the third-highest single-game long-range shooting effort in school history.
The 10 team three-pointers fell just one shy of tying the school record of 11, set twice, the last coming just last season when the Pirates hit 10 threes against Drexel on Dec. 12, 2011. The 29 three-point attempts were one shy of the school record of 30, set at Georgetown just last month.
Redshirt sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and seven assists. Sophomore Alexis Brown (Jacksonville, Fla.) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, which is the highest individual rebound total for an SHU player this season. She also had four points, four assists, three steals and three blocks.
Despite getting off to a slow start offensively and trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Seton Hall limited USF to 0-for-8 shooting from three-point range, and used a 7-0 run to cut the Bulls' lead to nine points with fewer than two minutes to play in the period.
Senior Terry Green (Brentwood, N.Y.) sparked the SHU run, stepping up for a three-pointer with 3:07 to play and hitting nothing but nylon. It was the only three-pointer for either team in the first half.
The Pirates' run continued with freshman Jasmine McCall (Manalapan, N.J.) getting involved in the action. She converted a pair of free throws before making an off balance 10-foot bank shot from the right side to score four points in less than a minute for Seton Hall, making the USF lead just 23-14 with 1:40 to play.
The Bulls (17-7, 6-5) countered with a 7-0 run to end the half, culminating with an Akila McDonald layup as time expired in the period.
Simmons filled up the stat sheet in the first half, scoring seven points with four steals and three rebounds. She got to the free throw line six times, but made just three attempts; SHU shot 6-for-12 from the stripe through the first 20 minutes.
Balanced scoring was the main feature of the USF offense as six different players accounted for the Bulls' first seven field goals. McDonald led the way with eight first half points and six rebounds while Alisia Jenkins scored seven points.
After struggling from three in the first half, USF was the first team to get going from three-point range, with Inga Orekhova nailing three threes through the first 2:30 minutes of the second to push the Bull's lead over 20 points for the first time.
That USF lead reached as many as 29 points following a pair of Courtney Williams free throws, but that is where the Pirates' comeback began.
Seton Hall limited the Bulls to just two field goals over a seven minutes stretch of the second half and started their run of eight three-pointers with a triple from Simmons with 8:25 to play. Green hit two threes and the long-distance barrage ended with four in a row for Morris, the last connecting with 1:40 remaining.
Orekhova scored 18 of her 22 points in the second half, nailing five threes for the Bulls. McDonald also finished in double figures with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Seton Hall returns home this Wednesday, Feb. 20, when it hosts Providence College at Walsh Gymnasium in South Orange, N.J. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
