Seton Hall University
Illinois
Richardson-Smith Leads Hall Over Illinois 82-72
12/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score | Box Score 
| Highlights
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Junior wing Tabatha Richardson-Smith (Bay City, Texas) erupted for 38 points, tying a Seton Hall University women's basketball record, to lead the Pirates to an 82-72 win over visiting Illinois on Tuesday night in Walsh Gym. The Hall improves to 9-1 overall and won its eighth game in a row, matching the longest winning streak for the program since the 2003-04 season.
Richardson-Smith's 38 points tie the school record set by, well, it was her actually, last season when she dropped 38 points in an overtime win over Marquette. Her stat lines from the two games were remarkably similar, but on Tuesday night she was more dangerous from 3-point range and scored a lot of her points at the line, finishing 11-for-20 from the field, 6-for-12 from 3-point range and 10-for-12 from the charity stripe.
She rounded that out with a career-high seven steals and five rebounds. With her six makes from long distance, Richardson-Smith moved into fourth place in program history with 133-career 3-pointers and is now one point shy of 900 for her career.
Of course it was Richardson-Smith that keyed a critical Seton Hall run late in the first half that turned the momentum of the game permanently in the Pirates' favor. Twice Seton Hall led by eight points, taking a 23-15 lead at 10:43 in the first on a Richardson-Smith triple.
Illinois answered that deficit by running off six unanswered, which was the start of what turned into an 18-6 run for the Fighting Illini, who took their largest lead of the game at 33-29 as Taylor Tuck knocked down a basket from long range approaching the three-minute mark of the opening period.
In a flash, Seton Hall regained the lead, rattling off 14 points over the final 2:42 of the first half to take an eight-point lead into the locker room. Richardson-Smith scored 10 points during that run, hitting at three at 2:14 to put her team back in front and converting another shot from downtown less than a minute later.
As they have done all season long, the Pirates forced turnovers and made their opponents pay for the extra chances. In the first half alone, Illinois gave the ball away 17 times, leading to 26 Seton Hall points, nine of which were scored during that crucial run at the end of the period. For the game, the Fighting Illini turned the ball over 22 times, leading to 35 points for The Hall.
Seton Hall entered the game ranked 17th in the nation, averaging 12.3 steals per game, and recorded a season-high 16 on Tuesday night. The 35 points off of turnovers also represented a season-best effort.
The Pirates gradually extended their lead as the second half wore on, pulling in front by 17, 69-52, when Jordan Mosley (Orlando, Fla.) hit a pair of free throws with fewer than eight minutes remaining.
Illinois would make a run, getting as close as seven points when Brittany Carter converted a three-point play with 4:16 remaining. Ka-Deidre Simmons (Newark, N.J.) provided the response for Seton Hall, hitting an elbow jumper from the free-throw line as the shot clock expired to get the Pirates back on track.
Ka-Deidre Simmons was working on a triple double, finishing with 15 points, eight assists, eight rebounds and three steals. Daisha Simmons (Jersey City, N.J.) scored 12 points and Bra'Shey Ali (Plainfield, N.J.) chipped in 10 with eight boards to round out the Pirates' double figure scorers.
The play of senior center Chizoba Ekedigwe (Laurel, Md.) was critical to shutting down Illinois' interior play. In a season-high 25 minutes, she blocked three shots, came up with a pair of steals and pulled down five boards, keeping the Illinois posts from ever getting comfortable in the paint.
Prior to this season, Seton Hall had not defeated a Big Ten team since 2007, now it has two wins over the conference, also winning at Penn State in the Preseason WNIT. The Pirates also avenged a one-point loss suffered at Illinois last season, and the all-time series is now tied 1-1.
Seton Hall will take an eight-day hiatus from action for finals before returning to the court for a pair of home games on back-to-back days late next week. The Pirates host Fairfield on Thursday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m., and then the NJIT Highlanders on Friday, Dec .19, at 7 p.m.
