Seton Hall University
NJIT
WBB Dispatches NJIT for 10th-Straight Win
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Seton Hall University women's basketball team has won 10 games in a row, matching the longest winning streak for the program since the 1994-95 season, as the Pirates picked up a 74-62 victory over NJIT on Friday night in Walsh Gym.
Off to one of the best starts in program history, Seton Hall has lost just once this season, at No. 17 West Virginia by two points, 89-87, back on Nov. 17. Since then, The Hall has rattled off 10-straight victories, the last five of which have all come by double figures. Dating back to the end of last season, the Pirates have now won 13-straight games in Walsh Gym, the second longest home winning streak for the program in its 41-year history.
Daisha Simmons (Jersey City, N.J.) led Seton Hall in scoring against the Highlanders, netting 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Bra'Shey Ali (Plainfield, N.J.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, including six boards on the offensive end, the most for an SHU player this season. Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 18 points to go along with six assists.
Seton Hall never trailed, and the Pirates maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the game. Ka-Deidre Simmons hit her first four shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, to give Seton Hall an 18-point lead, 25-7, before the game even reached the second media timeout.
Seton Hall exploded for 10 points in just over 90 seconds to blow the game open, a run that was bookended by Simmons 3-pointers.
NJIT (5-8) managed to cut the SHU lead down to 10 points on a couple of occasions late in the half, but Seton Hall answered both times, including a run of six unanswered over the final minute of play to push the lead back up to 16.
Once the second half was underway it was more of the same as the Pirates sped up the tempo and appeared poised to put the game out of reach, taking their largest lead, 48-29, when Ka-Deidre Simmons fed Daisha Simmons in the paint at 17:07.
The Highlanders would not back down, twice cutting the Pirates' advantage down to 10 points, but never into single digits. When Leah Horton swished a jumper to make it 55-45, Jordan Mosley (Orlando, Fla.) responded with a bucket of her own 20 seconds later.
With fewer than nine minutes to play Alyssa Albanese drove to the rim to make it 59-49, and again Seton Hall scored on its next possession to push its lead back up to 12, this time with Ka-Deidre Simmons providing the offense. Her baseline jumper sparked a 10-1 Pirate run that extended the lead back to 19 points.
NJIT had two players finish in double figures, led by Albanese, who scored 16 points. The Highlanders won the battle of the boards, 39-38.
