Seton Hall University
Notre Dame
Pirates Fall to #2/3 Fighting Irish
2/9/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Morris, who is closing in on Seton Hall's all-time three-point record, now needs just four more treys to tie Ebonie Williams ('07-'10) and Jodi Brooks ('90-94) for first place in program history with 156. She also jumped into a tie for sixth-place on the SHU single-season list with 48 three-point field goals this year.
Redshirt-sophomore Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) finished with 11 points, six assists and a season high five steals against the Fighting Irish and freshman Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) gave the Pirates a big boost off the bench, finishing with 10 points and a pair of three pointers.
Saturday's contest marked Seton Hall University's (8-15, 3-7) annual Play 4Kay game, supporting the Women's Basketball Coaches Association initiative to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, as the Pirates donned their pink and white uniforms. To make a Play 4Kay donation, visit www.play4kay.org/shuwbb.
Notre Dame's (22-1, 10-0) offense was firing on all cylinders to start the game as it made five of its first seven field goal attempts on the way to a 20-7 lead eight minutes into the action. From that point forward Seton Hall went on to outscore UND 21-15 over the remainder of the first half, including a 13-4 SHU run over the final six minutes of the period, and trailed by just seven, 35-28, at the intermission.
Facing a 16-point deficit, its largest of the opening half, Simmons sparked the Seton Hall surge at the end of the half with a three-pointer with 5:47 remaining. Her shot was one of three long-range buckets the Pirates hit over the span.
Morris connected on a triple 1:50 later to cut the Notre Dame lead down to eight, 33-25, and two possessions later Morris found Richardson-Smith out on the wing for another three-pointer and the Fighting Irish were up by just five.
Coming out of the half Notre Dame scored on its first two possessions to regain a double-digit lead, 39-28, leading to a Seton Hall timeout. After the stoppage Morris knocked down a jump shot and then nailed a three to pull Seton Hall back within six, 39-33.
Notre Dame went on a 12-3 run over the next 5:25, building its lead back up to 16 points on a Kayla McBride layup with 11:39 to play and the Fighting Irish led by as many as 27 points down the stretch.
Never showing any signs of a letdown, Seton Hall finished the game by outscoring Notre Dame 7-0 over the final two minutes. Morris hit a long jumper with under a minute to play and drilled her fourth three-pointer of the day on Seton Hall's last possession.
Ariel Braker led four Notre Dame players who finished in double figures with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting. McBride scored 12 points, Natalie Achonwa had 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Skylar Diggins finished with 11 points and six assists.
Seton Hall returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 13, when it hosts the Villanova Wildcats in Walsh Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
