Pirates Return to Walsh to Host Villanova, Friday

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - Walsh Gymnasium

SETON HALL (9-4, 2-0) vs. VILLANOVA (6-6, 1-1)

Date

Time

Live Video

Live Audio

Live Stats

Twitter

Friday,
Jan. 3

1:00 PM ET

LIVE STATS

@SHUWBB

THE GAME
Seton Hall will return to action for its first game of 2020 on January 3 for a Friday matinee against Villanova in Walsh Gymnasium. Tip time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.

MEDIA
The game will be a BIG EAST Digital Network broadcast with Sean Saint Jacques and Meghan Caffrey on the call. You can find the free video stream at Caffeine,tv, YouTube or Twitter. As usual, the game will also be available over the airwaves at 89.5 FM WSOU and at wsou.net. Liam Plate and Chris Russo will describe the action on the radio. We'll also have the obligatory live stats available as well.

PROMOTION
Friday will be our 2019-20 Seton Hall Faculty & Staff Appreciation Game

LAST GAME
In front of 250 family and friends, freshman Mya Jackson (Wilmington, Ohio) erupted for a career-high 25 points as the Pirates trounced Xavier, 83-61, on Tuesday.

Jackson was brilliant, missing only three shots on the afternoon in a 9-for-12 performance from the field. She was 7-for-9 from three-point range and also grabbed five rebounds in 21 minutes of action. Senior Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) finished with 17 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and three steals, while junior Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) was a third Pirate to reach double-figures with 10 points to go with six rebounds.

Both teams had trouble scoring as the game began, but once the Pirates got started, they didn't stop. The Hall scored 15 of the game's first 16 points, capped by a Samuels layup. Meanwhile, The Hall's defense didn't allow a Xavier field goal until there was only 2:04 left in the first quarter.

Seton Hall put the game away at the start of the fourth quarter. A 9-0 run on a pair of three-pointers by Jackson sandwiched around one by Barbara Johnson (Toronto, Ontario) gave the Pirates a 71-49 lead with 7:55 left in the game. Xavier never cut their deficit to less than 17 points the rest of the way.

vs.

Seton Hall's All-Time vs. the Wildcats: 43-22
Last Meeting: Villanova 73, HALL 68 – Feb. 24, 2019

LAST TIME AGAINST VILLANOVA
The Pirates fell by a score of 73-68 at Villanova on Feb. 24 last year. Inja Butina and Shadeen Samuels combined to score 41 points for the Pirates in the setback.

The Hall saw Villanova get hot from 3-point range early and faced a double-digit halftime deficit, going down as many as 21 in the fourth quarter. The Pirates never quit and got back within two possessions in the final minutes of regulation before ultimately succumbing.

Butina set a new career-high with 23 points and dished out eight assists, while Samuels went for 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Nicole Jimenez was the third Pirate in double-digits with 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. For the Wildcats, Jannah Tucker led the way with 17 points on her Senior Day and Mary Gedaka posted a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA
The Wildcats are coming off a 19-13 season, which included a 9-9 BIG EAST mark. They qualified for the WNIT, defeating Old Dominion in overtime in round one before falling in round two at West Virginia. The Wildcats swept Seton Hall in their home-and-home series with the Pirates last season, a feat they've accomplished each of the last three years.

This year, Villanova enters its contest against Seton Hall with a 6-6 overall record. The Wildcats are 1-1 in conference play after splitting a pair of games last week. Villanova edged Providence, 51-49, on Sunday, but fell to Creighton on Tuesday, 58-42. The Wildcats had one common opponent with Seton Hall in the non-conference, defeating Saint Joseph's, 60-44, on Dec. 7.

Villanova is led by freshman Madison Siegrist, who is averaging 20.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

UP NEXT
Seton Hall will remain home and host BIG EAST rival Georgetown at Walsh Gym on Sunday, January 5. Tip-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. The BIG EAST Digital Network and 89.FM WSOU will again bring you all of the action.