Pirates Can't Overcome Cold Start; Fall to Nova, 61-55

Friday, January 3

South Orange, N.J.

1:00 PM

Seton Hall University

9-5,2-1Big East

Villanova

7-6,2-1Big East

Villanova

Seton Hall

Pirates Can't Overcome Cold Start; Fall to Nova, 61-55

1/3/2020 4:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HOME INFO BOX SCORE

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Shadeen Samuels (Ossining, N.Y.) recorded a double-double, and reached 1,000 points for her career, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team made just five of 27 three-point attempts in a 61-55 loss to Villanova on Friday.

The loss is the first of the season for Seton Hall in BIG EAST Conference play and snaps a four-game win streak.

Samuels finished 11 points and tied her season-high with 14 rebounds. Her steal and breakaway layup with 5:06 left in the first quarter pushed her over the 1,000-point career mark, becoming the 22^nd player in program history to reach the milestone.

The Story:
Seton Hall started the game cold from the field. The Pirates misfired on their first nine three-point attempts as Villanova built a five-point lead late in the second quarter. Both Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.) and Barbara Johnson (Toronto, Ontario) finally connected from downtown late in the period, but Villanova was able to take a 30-26 lead into halftime.

The Pirates trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, but again they found their late magic. The Hall opened the quarter with a 7-0 run, and a three-pointer by Alexis Lewis (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) cut Villanova's lead to three points, 49-46, with 7:34 left to play.

A mid-range jumper by Johnson sliced the Wildcats' lead to just one, 53-52, with 3:33 to go, but Villanova's Mary Gedaka answered with a made jumper. A layup by Desiree Elmore (Hartford, Conn.) again pulled The Hall to within a point with 1:42 left, but Villanova's Raven James hit a three-pointer, her only field goal of the game, to boost the Wildcats lead back up to four points with 1:19 left. Seton Hall couldn't get closer than three points over the final 79 seconds.

Inside the Numbers:

Seton Hall was 19-for-58 (32.8%) from the floor for the game, while Villanova was 22-for-56 (39.3%). The Hall was only 5-for-27 (18.5%) from three-point range, while the Wildcats were 10-for-30 (33.3%).
Samuels finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Hall out-rebounded Villanova, 42-to-35, which included a 13-to-8 advantage on the offensive boards and a 12-to-7 lead in second-chance points.
Johnson tied for the team lead with 12 points. She also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and had three steals.
Seton Hall was 12-for-18 (66.7%) from the free-throw line, while Villanova was 7-for-10 (70.0%).
Elmore tied for the team lead with 12 points to go with five rebounds.
Both teams forced 15 turnovers.

News & Notes:

Seton Hall falls to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 7-6 and 2-1 in conference play.
Seton Hall drops to 22-44 all-time against Villanova and has now lost seven straight games to the Wildcats.
With 11 points today, Samuels became the 22^nd player in Seton Hall women's basketball history to record 1,000 career points.
Samuels scored in double-figures for the seventh time this season and the 41^st time of her career, most among Seton Hall active players.
Elmore scored in double-figures for the 12^th time in 14 games this season. She now has 26 such games in her career.
Samuels' double-double is her second of the season and the 12^th of her career.
Elmore led the Pirates in scoring for the seventh time this year. Seton Hall is 4-3 in those games.
With 12 points today, Elmore surpassed 500 career points for her Seton Hall career.

Up Next:
Seton Hall will return to action on Sunday, January 5 when it hosts Georgetown at Walsh Gym. The game will be a BIG EAST Digital Network broadcast, and of course will be provided on the radio by 89.5 FM WSOU and wsou.net. Tip-time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.