In a game that came down to the wire, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team fell, 63-62 to Xavier in overtime. The loss drops the Pirates’ record to 9-5, including 1-2 in Big East play.
The Pirates got off to a slow start as Xavier grabbed a sizeable 17-9 lead in the opening quarter. In the low scoring quarter, Selena Philoxy chipped in four points for the Pirates and Desiree Elmore tacked on two points. Seton Hall had five turnovers, which Xavier was able to capitalize on and score 12 points.
In the second quarter, the Pirates picked up their game as they tried to catch up to the Musketeers. Shadeen Samuels lit up the scoreboard, scoring nine points and securing four rebounds, as the Pirates clawed back to be down by only six at halftime. Philoxy continued to aid the Pirates by adding six points and 10 rebounds to help the team start a comeback.
Nicole Jimenez and Samuels stood out for the Pirates in the third quarter as they continued to create offense for the team. Samuels added five points to the scoreboard, racking her personal total of points to 16 on the day, and Jimenez hit two three pointers.
The Pirates continued to outscore the Musketeers during this quarter, 17-15, but were unable to pull away with a lead, ending the quarter trailing 46-42.
In the fourth quarter, Seton Hall took off as Jimenez, Philoxy, and Samuels continued to shine, scoring 13 of the Pirates 16 points in the quarter. As time ticked down, Kaity Healy nailed a three to tie the game and send the teams into overtime. All of Healy’s points this season have come from the three-point line.
After three quarters of catch up from the Pirates, they ultimately fell in overtime despite having an impressive stretch where they took the lead for the first time in the game after four free throws from Samuels. Xavier pulled away with the win thanks to a layup which gave them two points over the Pirates at the end of the deciding frame.
Samuels finished the day with 24 points and Jimenez added 16 points to the scoreboard as well.
The Pirates will be back in action on Jan. 11 against Creighton. The game is set to begin at 11 a.m. at Walsh Gymnasium.
Brittany Tomore can be reached at Brittany.tomore@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @BrittTomore.
