Pirates Fall to Marquette on Stormy Night

Tuesday, January 9

South Orange, N.J.

8:30 PM

Seton Hall University

10-6,2-3Big East

#23 Marquette

14-2,3-2Big East

Marquette

Seton Hall

Photo by: Justin DiPietro

1/9/2024 11:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

Micah Gray tallies a team-best 16 points in the setback.

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – On a night that a storm brought a state of emergency to New Jersey, the Seton Hall women's basketball team fell to No. 23 Marquette, 75-54, in a mostly-empty Walsh Gymnasium on Tuesday.

The Hall couldn't rely on one of the best home court advantages in the BIG EAST and was overwhelmed buy Marquette in the second half after trailing by only two at the break. The Pirates shot only 33.3 percent from the field in the second half, compared to 66.7 percent for the Golden Eagles.

Sophomore Micah Gray (Oklahoma City, Okla.) had a team-high 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Graduate student Azana Baines (Blackwood, N.J.) tallied 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.

THE STORY:
Marquette scored the first seven points of the game, but the Pirates powered back, and a layup by Gray tied the score at 12 with 4:57 left in the first quarter. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the first 10 minutes, but it was six Seton Hall turnovers which led to a 21-19 lead for the Golden Eagles after one.

A pair of free-throws by Catalon tied the score at 26 with 6:29 to go before halftime, but Marquette then held the Pirates scoreless for the next 5:25 and went on a 7-0 run to grab a 33-26 advantage. Gray hit a three-pointer to end the run, and Baines scored just before the buzzer to send The Hall into the break down only two, 33-31.

A'Jah Davis (DeKalb, Ill.) scored to tie the game at 37, but Marquette answered with a game-changing 21-5 run to grab a commanding 58-42 lead with 2:37 left in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles were 10-for-14 from the floor in the third and took a 60-44 advantage in the fourth quarter.

The Hall scored the first five points of the fourth, but Marquette bounced back with a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 21-for-56 (37.5%) from the floor for the game, while Marquette was 29-for-54 (53.7%). The Hall was 6-for-17 (35.3%) from three-point range, while the Golden Eagles were 10-for-20 (50.0%).
Gray had a team-high 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three-point range.
Marquette out-rebounded The Hall, 39-to-25, which included an 8-to-7 edge on the offensive glass.
Baines tallied 12 points to go with six rebounds and three steals.
Seton Hall was 6-for-11 (54.5%) from the free-throw line, while Marquette was 7-for-10 (70.0%).
Graduate student I'yanna Lops (Stamford, Conn.) had a strong game off the bench with five points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Seton Hall forced 13 turnovers, while the Golden Eagles forced 12. Marquette, however, had a 15-to-9 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall drops to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in conference games, while Marquette improves to 14-2 overall and 3-2 in BIG EAST play.
The Hall is now 11-19 all-time against Marquette and suffers its first home loss to the Golden Eagles since 2019.
Tonight's game was Davis' 100^th career start.
With 12 points tonight, Baines surpassed the 900-mark for her career.
With 16 points tonight, Gray surpassed the 700-mark for her career.
For the 12^th time in 16 games, Seton Hall forced more turnovers than its opponent.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13 when it heads to Cincinnati for a game at Xavier. The contest will be televised nationally on FS1 with John Fanta and Meghan McKeown on the call. Tip-time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET.