Fountain, Samuels Combine For 48 In Setback To 'Nova

Friday, January 12

South Orange, N.J.

7 p.m.

Seton Hall University

10-8, 2-5BE

Villanova

14-2, 4-2BE

Villanova

Seton Hall

Fountain, Samuels Combine For 48 In Setback To 'Nova

1/12/2018 9:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score PDF BOX

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall women's basketball team (10-8, 2-5 BIG EAST) suffered a tough BIG EAST setback to Villanova (14-2, 4-2 BIG EAST) by a score of 67-59 on Friday night at Walsh Gym. Donnaizha Fountain (Roxbury, Mass.) recorded a 28-point, 13-rebound double-double in the setback and Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) set a new career-high with 20 points.

The Hall led by nine at the break and was in control for much of the first three quarters before a big fourth quarter for the Wildcats that saw VU out-score The Hall 29-17 over the final 10 minutes. Kelly
Jekot led the Wildcats with 21 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

Turning Point
Up four heading into the fourth quarter, The Hall answered Villanova pulling even for the first time in the second half with a Kaela Hilaire (Queens, N.Y.) lay-in to make it 44-42 with 7:33 to play. The Wildcats responded by ripping off an 11-0 run, going up 53-44 with 4:31 to play. The Hall scored the next three buckets to get back within a possession, but a pair of free throws and a Jekot 3-pointer made it 58-50 with 1:10 to play and effectively ice the comeback for VU.

News and Notes

The Hall falls to 22-40 all-time against Villanova
The Pirates held VU to seven points in the first period, the ninth single digit quarter The Hall has allowed and second-straight after limiting Xavier to nine in the fourth quarter on Wednesday
Both Fountain (28) and Samuels (20) set new career scoring highs
- It marked the second time this year two Pirates have scored 20 in a game, last occurring against UCLA on Dec. 17 (Fountain 23, Nicole Jimenez 20)
- The 48 combined points are the most by a duo in a game this season
- Fountain's 28 points are tied for the most for a Pirate this season (JaQuan Jackson vs. Fairfield)
Fountain also tied her Pirate-best with 13 rebounds
The setback marked only the second time this season The Hall has fallen despite winning the rebound battle
The Hall recorded a season-low three steals, a game after notching 16 at Xavier
The Pirates forced only seven turnovers, the fewest for an opponent this year

Inside The Numbers

After The Hall held VU 6-of-28 (21.4 percent) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, the Wildcats went 14-of- 29 (48.3 percent) in the second half
Villanova went 5-for-20 from 3-point range in the first three quarters before connecting on 3-of-4 in the fourth quarter
The Pirates won the rebounding battle, 41-34, led by 13 from Fountain and nine from Samuels
Hilaire notched two of The Hall's three steals in her first game action since Jan. 2
Inja Butina (Zagreb, Croatia) was held off the scoresheet for the first time this season but notched six assists against only one turnover
The Hall recorded a 28-16 edge in the paint and a 14-11 advantage in second chance points

What's Ahead
The Pirates are back at Walsh Gym to complete their stretch of eight games in 18 days when they host Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.