Offense erupts for Seton Hall WBB in 97-55 rout of Providence

Struggling offensively on a two-game road trip that ended up in losses at DePaul and Marquette, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team found its offensive groove last Friday at the Walsh Gymnasium, scoring 82 points against Creighton. The Pirates wasted no time jumping out to a 32-14 lead after the first quarter and shooting 61 percent from the field. There was no stepping off the gas pedal as Seton Hall eventually coasted to the 82-70 victory with five players scoring in double figures.

Looking to keep the offense flowing on Sunday afternoon at the Walsh Gymnasium against a Providence Friars squad that had lost six in a row, the Pirates took charge going on a 17-0 run in the last seven minutes of the first quarter. A stifling defense forced six Providence turnovers that led to 11 Seton Hall points. The Friars offense went almost eight minutes without a point with the streak broken at the nine-minute mark.

The Pirates did not step off the gas pedal ratcheting up the defensive pressure even more by holding the Providence without a point for almost six minutes. Limited to 15 total points on the road trip, Shadeen Samuels rediscovered her scoring touch in the game against Creighton dropping 16 points. In the first half  against the Friars, Samuels poured in 17 of her game 23 points. Limited to 12 points in the two games vs. DePaul and Marquette, Alexis Lewis led the team in scoring against Creighton with 18 points and on Sunday Lewis delivered 14 of her 20 points on the day.

Seton Hall dominated the stats sheet canning eight three points, shooting a sizzling 52 percent from the field.

Head Coach Anthony Bozella on the first half, “At the end of the first half was tremendous. I though we executed really well, to shoot 50 percent and 60 percent from three. We had a good shoot around, came back at night a couple of times and really taking it seriously. It starts with the upper classmen Shadeen, Barbara and Alexis gave been locked in and they have a goal and understand it a little bit better and don’t like to be embarrassed. Shadeen is working hard, going through a lot and getting better every day. She wants to win and do very well”.

“You just don’t get that too often, when we play together we can be a really good team. We shared the ball, made the extra pass and gives everyone easier shots”

A comfortable lead in the second half allowed Bozzella to empty the bench, which came in and did the job scoring a total of 30 points as Seton Hall coasted to the 97-55 win. The Pirates finished the contest knocking down 14 triples, winning points in the paint 32-26, forcing 23 Providence turnovers and leading in points off turnovers 28-6, 20-0 second chance points and fast break points 18-8. Barbara Johnson chipped in with 10 points.

“We scored 97 points against the best defensive team in the Big East and shows a lot” said Tony Bozzella. “Our kids had a great week of practice. We could have packed it in after a horrible week and really proud of the kids”.

“We’re tired, we played eight games with four home and four away. The first four out of six on the road, we want to work on defense and rebounding. This week we got a couple of kids healthier and need to get Mya (Jackson) back”.

Next up for Seton Hall(12-7, 5-3 Big East) is against St. John’s(12-7, 5-3) on Sunday January 26^th at the Walsh Gymnasium with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m.

“Next Sunday is a rivalry game, national TV at 6:30 and primetime game of the week in basketball” Bozzella said. “It says a lot about our program and get it that we’re in a good place and proud of our program. The kids are really enjoying themselves here and proud to be a Pirates as I am as an alum. Our staff has worked extremely hard to get the best for Seton Hall women’s basketball. Next Sunday is going to be a tremendous event and we need a great crowd. National TV, miked up and all-access and can’t get any bigger than that”.