The women's basketball team, looking to end a three-game losing streak, will host Villanova on Sunday.
The teams last squared off on Jan. 11, a 64-56 road win for the Pirates.
Trailing 54-51 with 4:36 remaining in that game, junior point guard Ka-Deidre Simmons knocked down a triple to tie the game.
On the next Seton Hall possession, Simmons converted a three- point play to give the Pirates a 57-54 lead.
Sophomore Bra'Shey Ali extended the Pirates lead to 59-56. The Pirates went on to hit their free throws to secure the win.
Simmons led the team, scoring a career-high 25 points to go along with 6 assists. Three other Pirates also scored in double figures. Senior Janee Johnson had 13 points, junior Alexis Brown scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds and Ali recorded 10 points and 16 rebounds.
For the Wildcats, Devon Kane led the way with 16 points and 4 assists. Coyer was the only other Wildcat in double figures, putting up 10 points.
The win was big for The Hall, as it was the team's first Big East win of the season and also the team's first win over Villanova since Jan. 30, 2010. Villanova holds a 35-18 record against the Pirates.
Villanova (17-5, 7-4) comes into the second match-up winners of four straight.
In that game, junior forward Lauren Burford led the Wildcats with 19 points and 4 assists.
Wildcats' senior guard and leading scorer Devon Kane scored 12 points while dishing out 6 assists and grabbing 4 rebounds. Entering Wednesday, Kane averaged 11.9 points per game.
Junior forward Taylor Holeman scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Entering Wednesday Holeman averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
As a unit, Villanova ranks eighth in the Big East, putting up 65.5 points per game. However, the Wildcats hold opponents to only 56.7 points per game, which is tops in the conference.
The Hall has been one of the top scoring teams in the conference, averaging 71.8 points per game.
The team has two of the top 10 individual scorers in the conference. Sophomore Tabatha Richardson- Smith averages 18.2 points per game which is just .1 behind the conference leader, Marquette's Katherine Plouffe.
In Wednesday's 62-60 loss at Marquette. Richardson-Smith struggled, putting up only 11 points on 4-11 shooting. Simmons led The Hall with 20 points and 6 assists.
The Pirates attempted a comeback late in the game on Wednesday. A layup from Richardson-Smith cut the Golden Eagles' lead to three with 2:07 remaining. However, the Pirates were not able to capitalize on the momentum.
Sunday's game is scheduled to begin 2 p.m. at Walsh Gym.
T.J. Brennan can be reached at thomas.brennan@student.shu.edu.
