Pirates beat North Carolina State, improve to 6-0

(Photo by John Jones – Double G Media)

The No. 25 Seton Hall women’s basketball team improved to 6-0 with a 58-55 victory over previously unbeaten North Carolina State on Thursday night at the Hard Rock Riviera Maya. The contest was The Hall’s first at the 2015 Cancun Challenge.

On a day where both teams shot under 34 percent from the floor, the Pirates rebound game remained strong. Tiffany Jones led the Hall with 12 rebounds, while Tabatha Richardson-Smith and Lubirdia Gordon each grabbed eight.

Richardson-Smith also had a team high 18 points and Aleesha Powell had 17 to go along with her career-high seven boards. Shakena Richardson was the third of the Pirates in double-figures with 10 also adding six boards and four assists.

The Pirates led by six after a quarter, but the Wolfpack cut the lead to one at the half. Seton Hall went up by six after the third quarter and led by as many as 10 in the fourth, but NC State battled back to make it a one-possession game in the final minute. Richardson-Smith hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds of regulation and finished 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the contest.

Seton Hall head coach Tony Bozzella was extremely happy once again with his teams toughness and heart to grind out wins.

“We won this game because of toughness,” Bozzella said. “While we didn’t have our best shooting performance, it was our heart and our defense that gave us the ability to finish tonight.”

The Pirates conclude play at the 2015 Cancun Challenge on Friday night with a 9 p.m. showdown against Northern Iowa.