Seton Hall halted UC Davis's five game winning streak by pulling out a 58-54 victory Monday afternoon in Walsh Gym.
Junior guard Ebonie Williams paced the Pirates (8-4) with 23 points, three rebounds, and three assists on 8-13 shooting (6-10 from three point range).
Nicole Emery complimented Williams with 17 points and five rebounds, as well as three steals and blocks.
The Pirates trailed by nine points as late as the 5:35 mark in the second half, but rallied behind Williams and sophomore guard Shanai Heber.
Heber brushed off a rough first half to record six unanswered points and a steal in just under two minutes of play to close the gap.
Seton Hall head coach Phyllis Mangina said that Heber was the key to this drive.
"I know she had ten turnovers," Mangina said, "but I thought a couple of the drive penetrations down the stretch were huge. Her drives and defensive stops [by Kashmere Joseph] were the keys to the game."
With the score 52-49 in favor of the Aggies, Williams hit a three point basket to tie the game and cap off her game.
Emery made one of two free throws with 1:38 left to play to give the Pirates the lead for good.
She had the next four points for Seton Hall to pad the lead that they would hold on to thanks to sinking their free throws.
The Pirates shot 50% in the second half to pull away in what would turn out to be a back-and-forth affair for most of the game. The game saw nine lead changes and a different tie score seven times.
Turnovers plagued both teams throughout the game, with Seton Hall committing 24 and UC Davis turning the ball over 17 times. The first half saw a bigger discrepancy with Seton Hall recording 12 to UC Davis's only 5. The Pirates scored 22 points off of turnovers while the Aggies converted 23. Heber committed five turnovers in each half.
Heber finished with six points (all in the second half) and seven rebounds. Sophomore Kandice Green scored only four points but contributed eight rebounds. Senior Letitia Curry, senior Ashley Booker, junior Kashmere Joseph and sophomore Whitney Wood each chipped in two points apiece to round out the scoring.
Senior guard Haylee Donaghe paced the Aggies with 17 points and four rebounds. Junior Heidi Heintz added 15 points and six rebounds while sophomore Lauren Juric contributed 10 points (all in the second half).
Mangina said that games like this in the non-conference schedule keep her team prepared for the upcoming Big East schedule.
"We played Georgia Tech," Mangina said, "we went to Marshall, and then we go to NC State and they help you get ready. We wanted to play some decent games, we thought this was a decent team in UC Davis. They play like a Marquette-type of game so at least we're seeing it and preparing."
Seton Hall is off until, Dec. 28 when they face their last challenge before conference play begins by traveling to face North Carolina State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Josh Jongsma can be reached at joshua.jongsma@student.shu.edu.
