Seton Hall women on the rise after swarming No. 24 St. John’s
Rutgers isn't the only ranked reaper in New Jersey. The Pirates have won 10 of 11 and are second in the Big East.
SOUTH ORANGE – Seton Hall women’s basketball made an early statement Wednesday by forcing No. 24 St. John’s into 11 straight missed shots en route to a 17-11 first-quarter lead. Come the start of the second quarter, the Pirates truly clamped down, and we saw just where this game was headed.
St. John’s opened the period with an inbounds play, and within nine seconds, Amari Wright poked the ball free, turned and made a layup for the Pirates. St. John’s tried to get up court again, but Azana Baines got her hands on another steal and fed Lauren Park-Lane in transition for a second bucket, a mere 20 seconds in.
The Red Storm burned a timeout in order to get settled. In their half-court offense, Mimi Reid worked in the lane and tried an outlet pass left – except the only player standing anywhere nearby was Wright. She got it ahead to Park-Lane, who was red-hot at the time… making it inexplicable why the Red Storm let her pick an open spot on the arc and calmly bury a 3-pointer.
The upshot: Seton Hall women’s basketball overwhelmed previously unbeaten St. John’s 72-51 to move to 12-4 overall and 5-1 in the Big East, alone in second place in the conference.
Rutgers isn’t the only ranked reaper in this state.
Coach Tony Bozzella said the Pirates’ aggressive defense at the start of each quarter was critical to the game plan.
“They’re very talented, and (St. John’s coach Joe Tartamella) has done a great job of running a lot of great sets this year, isolating his player with their great skills, and we couldn’t allow that,” Bozzella said. “If we did allow that, we knew we were gonna have a problem defending them, so we had to push them out and make things uncomfortable and just get them out of rhythm.”
The Pirates recovered from three straight single-digit losses in November and have won 10 of their last 11 games, the only defeat in that span coming on the road at powerhouse UConn. They now own wins over two ranked opponents, the other coming Dec. 4 against then-No. 24 Marquette, the first time the program has achieved that since 2015-16.
That season was also the last time Seton Hall appeared in the NCAA Tournament. After reaching the final of the WNIT last season, one has to assume returning to the NCAA is the program’s next goal.
That season also happened to be the last time Hall was ranked in the AP and Coaches polls. The Pirates didn’t receive any votes this week, but I wouldn’t put it past voters to take notice of them now, especially if everything goes to plan Sunday at Providence (which just upset No. 25 Creighton in Big East action Wednesday).
I asked Bozzella how encouraged his players feel at the moment after what he dubbed the team’s best game of the year.
“The kids were really excited. They’re excited because they played well. Obviously we beat a very good basketball team, but we feel we’re a very good basketball team. But we’re excited to play well,” Bozzella said, tapping the lectern in front of him for emphasis. “I think that’s the big thing for the kids.”
Park-Lane entered the game averaging 20.9 points and 6.0 assists per game, both ranking in the top 14 of Division I. She scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half and looked unstoppable. But when her shot got colder in the second half, she wound up with eight of her 11 assists, distributing the ball to talented center Sidney Cooks and others.
Cooks went for 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the aforementioned Wright had the game of her life off the bench. Her seven steals and 17 points (on 6-for-6 shooting) were both career bests.
The game plan and the individual efforts combined to give the Pirates a massive advantage. They scored 32 points off turnovers – their third time this season surpassing 30.
The Pirates’ turnover margin on the season also improved to plus-4.6 per game, roughly top-40 in the country.
“When you have a great point guard like Lauren, another great point guard like Amari and a great ball-handler like Sha Hagans, you better not turn the ball over. And we struggled with that early in the year,” Bozzella said. “I think we’re learning to value the ball, getting the ball into the right people’s hands, stepping to the ball, doing what we’re supposed to do.”
The next time Seton Hall plays at home is Jan. 19 against none other than UConn, now ranked No. 5. The Huskies will be indisputable favorites, but for this return game, they might be catching Seton Hall at the wrong time.
………
Good morning to all, and thank you for reading. Since I’ve only been doing this for a year and a half, that was my first game in person at Walsh Gymnasium. Glad I could bring you a story on a team I didn’t cover in Season 1, particularly a team as deserving as these Pirates.
I want to wrap up with a brief reflection on what transpired Monday night.
For the second year in a row, Rutgers handed a No. 1 Purdue team its first loss of the season, this time at Mackey Arena. I think Monday was a synthesis of everything Rutgers needed to go right this season. Consider how last year’s game was won. With Geo Baker out, Ron Harper Jr. had to play some hero ball, going for 30 points and making a 30-footer at the buzzer. Paul Mulcahy, though he had eight assists, was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting.
We’ve heard Caleb McConnell say he thinks this year’s group is better than last year’s, even without Harper and Baker. I finally think I agree. Cliff Omoruyi didn’t get into foul trouble while going toe to toe with Zach Edey and collected 12 and six. Mulcahy was a savant, scoring on his own offensive rebound three times down the stretch en route to 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. And with no Harper, who else would step up and try the game-winning shot? None other than Loyola (MD) transfer Cam Spencer.
The Scarlet Knights rose to No. 16 in KenPom the following day and are No. 15 this morning, a program record, ahead of tonight’s home game against Maryland. They’re going to be a force in the Big Ten.
What was eerie about Monday night was watching the end of a thrilling basketball game unfold while, in Cincinnati and on social media, the sports world began focusing in on Damar Hamlin.
I had seen on Twitter that the Buffalo Bills needed an ambulance to drive onto the field for one of their players, but the hard truth about football is that we’d seen that before. We’ve seen enough images of a player being strapped to a board for a head or neck injury and carted away to a hospital for treatment or “observation” that the effect has been blunted. I even feel some regret in hindsight that I continued watching and enjoying an entirely different sport, not yet grasping the full seriousness of Hamlin’s situation.
This final sentiment is not going to add anything remotely new to the conversation, but I hope we as sports fans and those of us in the media never forget the rawness of Monday night. Criticism of athletes has gotten over-the-top in the social media and “Embrace Debate” era, and it leaves us susceptible to forgetting the humanity behind each and every player and coach in the game. Even the ones you wish were benched or fired. Even the ones you call a bust after a season and a half (if that). I’m not saying professionals should be handled with kids’ gloves, just that these people don’t exist purely for our entertainment. I’ll be praying for Damar.