Baines Excels, But Pirates Drop Regular Season Finale

Monday, February 27

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

17-13,10-10Big East

Villanova

26-5,17-3Big East

Villanova

Seton Hall

Baines Excels, But Pirates Drop Regular Season Finale

2/27/2023 9:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE - VU (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Senior Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) scored a team-high 22 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team closed out the 2022-23 regular season with an 83-56 loss to No. 11 Villanova on Monday in Walsh Gym.

The Pirates close out the regular season with a 17-13 record overall and a 10-10 mark in BIG EAST play. The Hall has earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament and will face No. 11 Xavier in the opening round on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Seton Hall scored the first four points of the game, but a 12-0 Villanova run put them in front for the remainder of the contest.

Baines had 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the floor to go with five rebounds.

THE STORY:
Seton Hall opened the game with buckets by Baines and Lauren Park-Lane (Wilmington, Del.), but Villanova answered with a 12-0 run, holding the Pirates scoreless for 4:14. The Hall hung tough and a three-point play by Baines cut its deficit to 16-12, but the Wildcats hit a three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to lead, 19-12, after the first 10 minutes.

A putback by Baines with 2:05 left in the second quarter cut The Hall's deficit to 32-23, but Villanova closed the half with a 6-0 burst to take a 38-23 lead into the break. The Wildcats shot 54.2% from the field in the first 20 minutes compared to just 31.3% for the Pirates.

Villanova connected on six of their first eight shots to begin the second half and ran out to a 53-30 lead with 5:32 left in the third.

The Pirates scored the first six points in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get closer.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 24-for-60 (40.0%) from the floor for the game, while Villanova was 29-for-58 (50.0%). The Hall was 4-for-13 (30.8%) from three-point range, while the Wildcats were 6-for-20 (30.0%).
Baines had a team-high 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting from the floor. She also had five rebounds.
Villanova out-rebounded The Hall, 38-to-28, including an 11-to-10 edge on the offensive glass and a 14-to-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Seton Hall was 4-for-10 (40.0%) from the free-throw line, while Villanova was 19-for-20 (95.0%).
Seton Hall forced 10 turnovers, while Villanova forced 12. The Wildcats had a 17-to-8 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall finishes the 2022-23 regular season with a 17-13 overall record and 10-10 final mark in the BIG EAST, while Villanova improves to 26-5 overall and 17-3 in conference play.
The Hall drops to 25-49 all-time against Villanova.
With five assists tonight, Park-Lane moved past West Virginia's Yolanda Paige for fourth place on the BIG EAST's career assists list. She now has 436 for her career in BIG EAST games.
With five rebounds tonight, Baines reached the 500-rebounds mark for her career.
Baines' 20-point game is her third of the season.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, March 3 when it begins play at the 2023 BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The No. 6 seeded Pirates will face No. 11 seeded Xavier at 4:00 p.m. The contest will be televised by SNY. It'll also be available on 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net.