Woodard's Career Night Carries Hall Past Mercyhurst, 63-37

Tuesday, November 3

South Orange, N.J.

7:00 PM

Seton Hall University

1-0,0-0Big East

Mercyhurst

0-1,0-0NEC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Mercyhurst	7	16	10	4	37
Seton Hall	18	15	16	14	63

GAME NOTES (.pdf)BOX SCORE (.pdf)

11/3/2026 10:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Sophomore Ari Woodard (Oviedo, Fla.) erupted for a career-high 22 points to lift the Seton Hall women's basketball team to a 63-37 victory over Mercyhurst in the 2026-27 season-opener on Tuesday in Walsh Gymnasium.

Seton Hall's stifling defense held Mercyhurst scoreless for nearly six minutes early in the first quarter, forcing six turnovers, including two shot-clock violations to set the tone for the rest of the game. Aside from a surprisingly competitive second quarter, the Pirates largely dominated the contest, using a 12-2 run to open the fourth to put the game away.

Woodard was 8-for-11 from the floor to obliterate her previous career-high of 11 points. Senior Savanna Jones (Eden Prairie, Minn.) matched her career-high with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting.

Newcomer Ksenija Scepanovic (Kolasin, Montenegro), playing in her first collegiate game, had seven points, five rebounds and a team-high seven assists despite a poor shooting night. Senior Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) had only six points, but collected a game-high six steals and drew eight fouls.

Two angles... one great play!! Scepanovic ➡️ Pinkney! #HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🔵⚪ https://t.co/K9yziZn9ns
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) November 4, 2026

THE STORY:
After Mercyhurst scored to tie the score at two early in the first quarter, the Pirates held the Lakers scoreless for the next 5:57, going on an 11-0 run. Seton Hall shot 57.1% from the floor in the first 10 minutes forced nine turnovers. The Pirates took an 18-7 lead into the second quarter, but Mercyhurst scored the nine of the first 13 points in the second frame to cut their deficit to 22-16 with 4:55 left before halftime. A made jumper by Catalon with 2:09 left before the break gave The Hall a 33-18 advantage, but the Lakers were able to close to within 10 points, 33-23, at halftime.

Seton Hall opened the second half with an 8-0 run, and a pair of made free-throws by Woodard gave The Hall a commanding 41-23 lead with 5:08 left in the third quarter. Mercyhurst answered back with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit back to 41-32 with 2:54 in the third. The Pirates, however, closed out the third quarter with an 8-1 burst and took a 49-33 lead into the fourth.

The Pirates began the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run to put the game way, holding the Lakers to only four points in the final 10 minutes.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 26-for-58 (44.8%) from the floor for the game, while Mercyhurst was 11-for-40 (27.5%). The Hall was 4-for-14 (28.6%) from three-point range, while the Lakers were 5-for-19 (26.3%).
Woodard had a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, with three steals, two rebounds and two assists.
Mercyhurst out-rebounded The Hall, 31-to-30.
Jones tied her career-high with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting with two rebounds.
Seton Hall was 7-for-9 (77.8%) from the free-throw line, while Mercyhurst was 10-for-13 (76.9%).
Scepanovic had seven points, five rebounds, a game-high seven assists and two blocks.
Seton Hall forced 30 turnovers, while the Lakers forced 16. The Hall had a massive 31-to-8 advantage in points-off-turnovers.
Catalon had six points, a game-high six steals and drew a game-high eight fouls.
The Pirates had 14 fast-break points, compared to just five for Mercyhurst.
Junior Ja'Kahla Craft (Elk River, Minn.) had eight points, five rebounds and three steals.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall opens the season with a victory for the 16^th consecutive season.
This was the first-ever meeting between Seton Hall and Mercyhurst.
With six steals tonight, Catalon moves past former Pirate Ashley Bush into eighth place on Seton Hall's career list with 206.
Tonight's victory is the 250^th for head coach Anthony Bozzella at Seton Hall.
Seton Hall improves to 153-62 in home games under head coach Anthony Bozzella, and 79-16 against non-conference opponents in Walsh Gym.
The Hall's 30 forced turnovers are the most since forcing 30 against Byrant on Nov. 12, 2023.
Mercyhurst's four points in the fourth quarter are tied for the fifth fewest points scored in a single-quarter by a Seton Hall opponent in program history.
Freshmen Giselle Dollar (Seattle, Wash.), Kenedie Maughan (Vernal, Utah), Shamira Morton (Canton, Miss.), Inieye Oruh (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Ari Vidales (Monterrey, Mexico) all made their collegiate debuts.

UP NEXT:
Seton Hall will return to action on Friday, Nov. 6 when it hosts Indiana State on Kids' Day. Tip time is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tickets are available by calling 973-275-HALL (4255). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 89.5 FM WSOU.

Ryan Johnston caught up with Ari Woodard after tonight's career-high 22 points in Seton Hall's victory. #HALLin 🏀🏴‍☠️🔵⚪ https://t.co/ny2w6zKimu
— Seton Hall Women's Basketball (@SHUWBB) November 4, 2026