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Katie Cahalin/Staff Photographer[/caption]
A double-double from senior Tabatha Richardson-Smith was not enough as the Seton Hall women’s basketball team dropped its third straight contest in a 55-45 loss against Villanova at the Pavilion on Friday night.
Baskets were few and far between in the defensive showcase as the Pirates, now 13-4 and 3-3 in conference play, put up 45 points and shot 28.1 percent from the field. Both categories were their lowest marks of the season. Villanova, 11-6 overall and 5-2 in the Big East, also had trouble hitting shots, which resulted in seven lead changes.
Richardson-Smith led the way with 12 rebounds and 20 points, and is now fifth on the Seton Hall all-time scoring list with 1,629 points. Shakena Richardson was the only other player for Seton Hall to record double-digit points, finishing with 10.
Missed opportunities proved to be costly for the Pirates. Tiffany Jones went 0-4 from the field with no points and Aleesha Powell went 3-7 with seven points. Even though the Pirates outscored Villanova in the paint (22-10), much of Seton Hall’s missed shots came from close-range. Lubirdia Gordon had 10 rebounds and five points but only shot 2-5 from the floor, and missed a couple of put-backs.
If one play were to summarize Seton Hall’s performance, it would be Shakena Richardson getting a steal at half-court and missing the breakaway layup.
The Wildcats had a more balanced offense with three players scoring in double digits. Senior Caroline Coyer and sophomore Alex Louin each scored 14 points while sophomore Megan Quinn put up 11.
While Villanova trailed the Pirates by as many as seven points in the first quarter, a 9-2 run at the end of the half gave the Wildcats a four-point lead after 20 minutes.
The Pirates outscored Villanova 15-11 in the third quarter, leaving the score tied at 33 heading into the fourth. It was not until the end of the game that Villanova pulled away.
Shakena Richardson tied the game at 42 with 3:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Louin responded with a layup and drew a foul. The Wildcats completed the three-point play and the Pirates turned the ball over on their next two possessions. A three-point basket by Claire Lundberg brought the deficit back down to six, but Seton Hall was unable to muster any more points.
The Pirates will look to snap their three-game losing streak on Sunday when they face Georgetown at 1 p.m. The Hoyas have also dropped three straight with losses to DePaul, Marquette and St. John’s.
Anthony Di Paolo can be reached at Anthony.dipaolo@student.shu.edu.
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