Junior guard Ebonie Williams called it the biggest shot of her career.
Perhaps she took some pointers on dramatic shooting from Eugene Harvey following the men's basketball team's last second win on Friday vs. St. Peter's.
Williams drilled a three with 14 seconds left to give Seton Hall its first lead of the night and the one that mattered most, as the Pirates defeated Marshall 53-51 on Monday night at Cam Henderson Center in West Virginia.
Most of the Pirates sprinted off the court after the final buzzer, leaping in jubilation after the improbable finish.
"We want Ebonie to have the ball in her hands and to make the decisions," head coach Phyllis Mangina said. "We've got great confidence in her and she's got great confidence in herself."
The women's basketball team is now 2-0 after sweeping its opening road trip of the season. The Pirates defeated Rider, 63-49, on Friday night in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Senior Nicole Emery finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Hall against Marshall.
Sophomore Kandice Green added 11 points and 13 rebounds. She also sealed the game with a key rebound over Thundering Herd forward Tynikki Crook as time expired.
"They went under the screen so I shot it," Williams said of the final play. "I'm speechless right now."
A successful pick by her teammates allowed the three-pointer to get off without any serious defensive threat by the Thundering Herd.
Marshall jumped out to an early lead in the first half, leading by as much as 11 right before the intermission.
The Thundering Herd, now 0-2, were paced by Crook with 15 points and 10 rebounds and forward Alyssa Hammond with 10 points.
"We're a resilient team," Mangina said of the comeback. "They (the Pirates) didn't hang their heads."
On Friday, the win against Rider marked the second straight season that the Hall defeated the Broncs in their season opener.
Williams also led the Pirates in the game, scoring 18 points on 5-16 shooting from the floor and three three-pointers.
Emery tallied 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Kandice Green rounded out the Pirates in double-figure scoring with eleven points to go along with seven boards of her own.
Cintella Spotwood led the way for the Broncs, registering 14 points and five boards in the loss.
The Pirates trailed in the early stages of the game before jumping out to a 20-11 lead. Rider, however, would not be put away so easily, consistently chipping away before the half to cut the lead to four, 31-27.
In the early moments of the second half, neither team seemed able to pull away. With the score tied at 40, the Pirates would go on an 8-0 run capped off by freshman Terry Green's second three-pointer of the night. From there the Pirates would not look back, extending their lead before closing out the victory.
Seton Hall held the edge in rebounding, 42-37, including 20 offensive boards, an important statistic given that it was the team's first game without last season's leading rebounder, Noteisha Womack, who graduated following the 2008-2009 season.
The Pirates cleaned the glass effectively as a team, with seven players reeling in four or more rebounds each.
Seton Hall will return home to South Orange and make their 2009-2010 Walsh Gymnasium debut over the weekend in the Anaconda Sports The Rock SHU Basketball Classic.
On Friday, the team will meet Morgan State followed by either Arkansas State or Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday.
Brian Wisowaty can be reached at brian.wisowaty@student.shu.edu.
Zachary Cziryak can be reached at zachary.cziryak@student.shu.edu.
