A clutch 9-0 run in the fourth quarter gave the Seton Hall women’s basketball team an 82-75 win over Creighton on Friday afternoon. The victory brings the Pirates back to even in conference play and 10-5 overall.
To begin the game, Seton Hall wasted no time getting on the scoresheet, as Shadeen Samuels and Kaity Healy knocked down two consecutive three pointers. The Pirates failed to score for five minutes afterwards, but Selena Philoxy eventually broke that drought with a jump shot.
Inja Butina made a close jumper with time ticking down in the first quarter, making the score 14-10 at the break. Both teams struggled from the field, shooting under 40 percent.
The Pirates got off another quick score to start the second quarter, as Butina made a layup for her second basket in as many attempts. In about a minute and a half, Nicole Jimenez accounted for Seton Hall’s next seven points, including a basket from beyond the arc and two steals.
Creighton then fought back to within two points until Butina and Jimenez hit two layups in a row to push the lead back to six. Samuels then continued her hot streak, making a layup and a three consecutively to extend the Pirates’ lead to ten. At the half, the Pirates held a 38-28 lead.
Samuels showed no signs of slowing down in the second half, hitting a three and then a fast break layup to bring Seton Hall’s lead to 15. Creighton began to threaten after that with two quick baskets, but Philoxy converted a layup to extinguish the potential run.
Creighton was able to trim the lead down by the end of the third quarter, although the Pirates still had a seven point advantage.
Creighton slowly chipped into that lead again, and with 5:13 left in the game, the Blue Jays knotted the score at 67. The resilience of the Pirates showed after this, though, as they were able to garner up a torrid 9-0 run to ensure their victory.
Samuels led the way on the afternoon with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Butina and Jimenez chipped in 21 and 17 points, respectively.
Seton Hall will return to action at home against Providence on Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.
Joseph Ippolito can be reached at joseph.ippolito@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @joeippy.
