The Seton Hall women's basketball team dropped its third straight game on Saturday, falling by a score of 53-38 to South Florida.
Freshman Terry Green led the Pirates with a career-high 15 points on 4-18 shooting while sophomore Kandice Green tallied 13 of her own and pulled down six rebounds.
Jessica Lawson paced USF in the win with 12 points and 14 boards.
The Bulls, 14-10 (5-6), started the game on a 12-3 run, with the Hall not scoring any points until the 15:18 mark when Terry Green knocked down a three-point basket.
"Our kids got frustrated and we missed a lot of easy and open shots," Coach Phyllis Mangina said. "Then we started pressing to make them after that."
The poor shooting continued as Seton Hall, 9-16 (1-11) entered the half 2-27 from the floor and managed just 12 points, trailing by a score of 28-12 after 20 minutes of play.
"When we're down like that we need to emotionally and mentally back off, reset, and relax," Mangina said.
The Hall came out more efficient in the second half, shooting ace 10-28 from the floor and outscoring South Florida 26-25. The Pirates finished the day shooting 12-55 from the floor and 2-23 from beyond the arc.
The game however was already determined thanks to the inside play of the Bulls. USF dominated scoring in the paint 30-8 and out-rebounded Seton Hall 45-34.
The Bulls also did an excellent job of limiting senior Kandice Green and junior Ebonie Williams, the Pirates top two scorers, to just nine shots apiece. Green registered her 13 points on 5-9 from the field while Williams, who averages 13.2 points per game, was held to just four on 1-9 shooting including 0-8 from three point range.
"When Kandice and Ebonie are receiving so much attention, someone is going to be open," Mangina said. "Those open shots went to Terry (Green)."
The freshman took 18 shots in total, knocking down just four, but went an impressive 6-7 from the free throw line en route to her collegiate career-high of 15 points. Despite shooting less than 25 percent from the field, Coach Mangina was happy with Green's shot selection on the whole and of the progress she has made this season.
"Only three of the 18 were bad shots," Mangina said. "She is up and down with her offensive play, but she is understanding Big East play better. Her recent play is moving her forward."
The Hall will need contributions from Green as well as the rest of the Pirates as they wind down the stretch run of the Big East schedule. Seton Hall is currently ranked last out of 16 teams in the Big East at 1-11, and have yet to win a conference game at home.
The next opportunity for the Pirates will be Saturday against the Panthers of Pittsburgh. Tip-off is set for 2 pm.
Zachary Cziryak can be reached at zachary.cziryak @student.shu.edu.
