Strong Second Half Propels Pirates, 61-47

Saturday, January 13

Cincinnati, Ohio / Cintas Center

4:00 PM

Seton Hall University

11-6,3-3Big East

Xavier

1-13,0-5Big East

Seton Hall

Xavier

Photo by: Justin DiPietro

1/13/2024 6:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

The Hall used a 15-1 run to pull away from Xavier for its third BIG EAST road victory.

CINCINNATI – Graduate student Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) had 14 points and eight rebounds to lift the Seton Hall women's basketball team to a 61-47 victory over a pesky Xavier team on Saturday in Cincinnati.

The Hall led by only one point at the break, but held Xavier without a field goal for more than a full quarter and scoreless for 8:08 between the third and fourth quarters to pull away. The Pirates held the Musketeers to just 28 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.

Seton Hall has now won its first three road BIG EAST contests of the season and improves to 11-6 overall.

Baines had a strong all-around game, leading The Hall with 14 points and eight rebounds to go with three assists, three steals and three blocks.

THE STORY:
Inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season, Lops paid immediate dividends, scoring six points in the first 5:01 of the contest. The Pirates turned Xavier over seven times in the first 10 minutes and took an 18-10 lead into the second.

After The Hall scored the first four points of the second to take a 22-10 lead, the Pirates went on a scoring drought of 5:06, committing four turnovers in that span. Xavier took advantage, going on a 7-0 run, but a three-pointer by Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) ended the Musketeers' run and gave Seton Hall a 25-17 lead with 3:47 left before halftime. Down 27-17, Xavier hit three-pointers in three of its next four possessions before stretching its run to 11-0 and taking its first lead of the game, 28-27. A pair of made free-throws by Micah Gray (Oklahoma City, Okla.) with three seconds to go gave the lead back to The Hall at the break.

Xavier entered the game averaging 6.1 made three-pointers per game and had six in the first half.

Trailing 37-35 with 4:50 left in the third, the Pirates turned up their defense and held Xavier scoreless for the rest of the quarter. During that time, The Hall went on a 10-0 run to grab a 45-37 advantage.

The Pirates kept up the same pressure in the fourth. The Hall held Xavier without a made field goal until the 4:13 mark. The Musketeers' drought without a made field goal was over a full quarter, from 4:50 in the third until 4:13 of the fourth. In that time, the Pirates went on a 15-1 run to grab a commanding 52-38 advantage.

Micah Gray to Azana Baines on the break for The Hall!!!#HALLin @BIGEASTWBB @MarchMadnessWBB pic.twitter.com/ECTlSc38IW
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) January 13, 2024

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 20-for-51 (39.2%) from the floor for the game, while Xavier was 17-for-48 (35.4%). The Hall was 3-for-19 (15.8%) from three-point range, while the Musketeers were 9-for-23 (39.1%).
Baines had team-highs of 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
The Hall out-rebounded Xavier, 39-to-27, which included a 13-to-7 edge on the offensive glass and a 14-to-3 advantage in second-chance points.
Kae Satterfield (New York, N.Y.) finished with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting with five rebounds.
Seton Hall was 18-for-23 (78.3%) from the free-throw line, while Xavier was 4-for-7 (57.1%).
Lops finished with eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.
Seton Hall forced 19 turnovers, while the Musketeers forced 15. The Hall had a 27-to-17 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Wright tallied nine points, on the strength of 2-for-2 from three-point range to go with five assists and three steals.
The Pirates had 30 points in the paint, compared to just 10 for Xavier.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall improves to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in conference games, while Xavier falls to 1-13 overall and 0-5 in the BIG EAST.
The Hall is now 20-3 all-time against Xavier and has won 10 straight in the series.
The Pirates have won their first three road BIG EAST games for the second time in the last four seasons.
With 14 points tonight, Baines became the 70^th player in program history to score 500 points in a Seton Hall uniform.
For the 13^th time in 17 games, Seton Hall forced more turnovers than its opponent.
The Hall has now won its last five games at the Cintas Center by an average margin of victory of 23.8 points per game.
The Pirates collected 11 steals today against Xavier. It's the ninth time this year with double-digit steals.
The Pirates have now held 11 opponents under 55 points in only 17 games so far this season.
All 11 of Seton Hall's victories this year have come by a minimum of eight points. The Hall's average margin of victory in its 11 wins is a staggering 23.8 points per game.
Seton Hall is now a perfect 10-0 this season when leading at the half and 9-1 when out-rebounding its opponent.
With 10 rebounds tonight, Satterfield surpassed the 400-mark for her career.
With eight points tonight, Lops surpassed the 800-mark for her career.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 17 when it returns to historic Walsh Gymnasium to host defending BIG EAST champion Connecticut. The contest will be televised by SNY with Allen Bestwick and Meg Culmo on the call. Tip-time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.