Pirates Fall Victim to Princeton's Hot Shooting, 78-75

Thursday, November 21

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

4-1,0-0Big East

Princeton

3-2,0-0Ivy League

Princeton

Seton Hall

Yaya Lops takes a shot against Wagner in the 2024-25 season-opener

Pirates Fall Victim to Princeton's Hot Shooting, 78-75

11/21/2024 10:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Graduate student Yaya Lops (Stamford, Conn.) scored a season-high 20 points, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, 78-75, to Princeton in Walsh Gym on Thursday.

The Pirates played well enough to win, shooting an impressive 47.5 percent from the floor and forcing 21 turnovers, compared to committing just eight. Princeton, however, shot a blistering 61.7 percent for the game including 12-for-19 (.632) from three-point range, and the Pirates simply couldn't keep up. The Tigers' field goal percentage is the highest by a Seton Hall opponent since Villanova shot 64.4 percent on Feb. 11, 2023.

Lops had her best game in a Seton Hall uniform, finishing with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, to go with six rebounds. Faith Masonius (Spring Lake, N.J.), Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) and Jada Eads (Orlando, Fla.) also scored in double-figures for The Hall.

Graduate student Amari Wright (Jacksonville, Fla.) had six points to go with eight assists, only one turnover and four steals.

THE STORY:
Trailing 11-6, The Hall went on a 9-0 run, and a made jumper by Eads gave it a 15-11 lead with 3:32 left in the first quarter. Princeton hit a shot at the first quarter buzzer to give it a 20-19 lead after 10 minutes. The Tigers then opened the second quarter with makes on five of their first seven three-pointer attempts to build a 35-26 lead with 3:37 before halftime.

Princeton took a 39-31 lead into halftime. The Tigers shot 59 percent from the field in the first half and were 6-for-10 from downtown.

The Tigers picked up right where they left off in the first two minutes in the second half, starting the third quarter with a 10-2 run to grab a commanding 49-33 lead and force a Seton Hall timeout. Down 56-40 with 4:05 left in the third, The Hall closed out the quarter with a furious 14-2 run. A potential buzzer-beater by Wright went just long and The Hall had to settle for a 58-54 deficit to enter the fourth.

A free throw by Eads cut The Hall's deficit to 64-61 with 5:49 left to play, but Princeton answered with an 8-0 run, capped by three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to boost its lead back to 72-61 with only 3:24 to go. The Pirates cut their deficit to just five points on three occasions, but the Tigers always had the equalizer. A jumper by Eads as time expired brought The Hall to within three points.

Nice handle and finish by Kaydan Lawson!!#HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🔵⚪ @BIGEASTWBB @MarchMadnessWBB pic.twitter.com/NwTPuSmNMV
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) November 22, 2024

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 28-for-59 (47.5%) from the floor for the game, while Princeton was 29-for-47 (61.7%). The Hall was 7-for-20 (35.0%) from three-point range, while the Tigers were 12-for-19 (63.2%).
Lops scored a season-high 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three-point range. She also had six rebounds and a steal.
Princeton out-rebounded The Hall, 28-to-21, but the Pirates had a 9-to-6 edge on the offensive glass.
Masonius had 15 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Seton Hall was 12-for-16 (75.0%) from the free-throw line, while Princeton was 8-for-9 (88.9%).
Catalon finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and again led the team with six fouls drawn.
Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers, while the Tigers forced eight. The Hall had a 29-to-15 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Eads had 12 points.
Wright had six points, eight assists, only one turnover and four steals.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall suffers its first loss of the season and falls to 4-1, while Princeton improves to 3-2.
The Hall is now 13-10 all-time against Princeton and has lost three straight in the series.
The Tigers' 61.7 field goal percentage is the highest by a Seton Hall opponent since Villanova shot 64.4 percent on Feb. 11, 2023.
Seton Hall had 11 steals tonight against Princeton. They've collected at least 11 steals in all five games this season.
The Hall has forced at least 21 turnovers in all five games this year.
The Pirates drop to 129-50 in Walsh Gym during the Bozzella era. Furthermore, the Pirates are now 67-13 against non-conference opponents at home.
Masonius has now scored in double-figures in eight straight games, which includes her final three contests at Maryland.
Tonight was Wright's 114^th career game played, which is tied for 16^th most in Seton Hall history.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 27 when it heads to Palm Springs, Calif. for the Acrisure Holiday Invitational. The Pirates will face No. 3 USC at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on truTV. As always, 89.5 FM WSOU or wsou.net will also carry the contest.