Pirates Can't Overcome Slow Start; Fall to Nova, 62-48

Sunday, March 8

Mohegan Sun Arena / Uncasville, Conn.

5:00 PM

Seton Hall University

19-12,12-8Big East

#2 Villanova

25-6,16-4Big East

Seton Hall

Villanova

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Pirates Can't Overcome Slow Start; Fall to Nova, 62-48

3/8/2026 9:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE (.pdf)

UNCASVILLE, CONN. – Jordana Codio (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Zahara Bishop (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored 13 points apiece, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team fell to Villanova, 62-48, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday.

The loss eliminates Seton Hall from the BIG EAST Tournament. The Pirates will now wait to see whether they receive an invitation to participate in the NCAA Tournament or WBIT.

Villanova led this one wire-to-wire, scoring the first 12 points of the game and leading by as many as 21 points. The Hall mounted significant rallies twice, but never was able to cut the lead to single digits. After the tough start, the Pirates were outscored by the Wildcats by only two points for the final 34 minutes of the game.

Codio finished with 13 points and four rebounds, while Bishop had 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds.

THE STORY:
Villanova scored the first 12 points of the game and kept the Pirates off the scoreboard until the 5:52 mark of the first quarter. The Hall was just 2-for-10 from the floor and committed seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes. The Wildcats took an 18-7 lead into the second.

Trailing 22-10, The Hall went on a 5-0 burst, and a layup by Codio cut its deficit to 22-15 with 7:59 to go before halftime. Villanova, however, answered by keeping Seton Hall from a made field goal for the next 5:45, going on a 14-1 run to grab a commanding 36-16 lead with 2:33 until the break. The Hall finished the half strong, scoring the final nine points to go into halftime down, 36-25.

Similar to how they started the game, Villanova began the second half with a run. A 6-0 burst gave the Wildcats a 42-25 advantage with 8:43 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats run extended to 15-5 to open the third quarter to grab a 51-30 lead with 4:41 to go in the third. For a second-straight quarter, however, Seton Hall finished strong. A 7-0 run capped by a layup from Bishop closed the third quarter with The Hall down, 51-37.

Senior Shailyn Pinkney (East Hartford, Conn.) scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter to cut The Hall's deficit to 51-39, but the Pirates couldn't get any closer. Villanova responded with a 7-0 run to put the game out of reach.

THE NUMBERS:

Seton Hall was 17-for-52 (32.7%) from the floor for the game, while Villanova was 24-for-61 (39.3%). The Hall was 3-for-16 (18.8%) from three-point range, while the Wildcats were 5-for-28 (17.9%).
Bishop had 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting with team-highs of seven rebounds and two steals.
The Hall out-rebounded Villanova, 38-to-36, which included a 12-to-10 edge on the offensive.
Codio had 13 points with four rebounds.
Seton Hall was 11-for-19 (57.9%) from the free-throw line, while Villanova was 9-for-9 (100.0%).
Freshman Ari Woodard (Oviedo, Fla.) had eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
Seton Hall forced nine turnovers, while the Wildcats forced 16. The Hall had a 23-to-11 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

THE NOTES:

Seton Hall falls to 19-12 overall and is eliminated from the BIG EAST Tournament.
The Pirates drop to 26-54 all-time against Villanova and fell in all three games against the Wildcats this season.
The Hall is now 30-42 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament games. It drops to 1-4 against Villanova in the Tournament.
With a steal today, Catalon becomes only the ninth player in Seton Hall history to reach 200 for her career.
With three made free throws today, Catalon moves into a tie with former Pirates Arminda into eighth place on Seton Hall's single-season list with 123.

UP NEXT:
With the loss, Seton Hall is eliminated from the BIG EAST Tournament, but it's postseason is expected to continue. The Hall will likely play in the NCAA or WBIT with Selection Sunday and Monday on March 15 and 16.