Big East Tournament play continued on Saturday as the Pirates faced Creighton for the last game of the night. In exciting fashion, Seton Hall stole the game and upset the Bluejays with a last-second midrange jumper from Mya Bembry to advance to the semifinals, 66-65.
Mya Bembry started hot and helped the Pirates take an early 6-2 lead, though Creighton fought back with an 8-0 run to take a four-point advantage. A subsequent 9-2 surge from Seton Hall capped off by Sidney Cooks with just a few seconds remaining put the Pirates ahead once again, 15-12, and set the stage for a night of back-and-forth offense.
Bembry continued her night by constructing another run, this time a 10-0 burst in the second quarter alongside Cooks for a 27-16 lead. For the remaining 4:50 before the break, The Hall held on to their lead despite only making two baskets. Lauren Park-Lane sealed the half with a last-second bucket of her own and Seton Hall kept a 33-27 lead into the half on 10 points from the frontcourt duo of Bembry and Cooks. Head coach Anthony Bozzella’s defensive focus kept The Hall ahead as the Bluejays shot under 40% from the field in the first half.
Creighton cut into the Pirates’ lead throughout the third frame, and an 11-0 run led by Carly Bachelor boosted the team to a 4-point advantage. There were 4 lead changes in the last 2:34 of the quarter, though the Bluejays clinched a 48-46 lead headed into the final 10 minutes.
Seton Hall saw themselves trailing by as much as 7 throughout the fourth quarter and desperately needed a break offensively. Andra Espinoza-Hunter nailed a triple though down 53-46 with 7:22 remaining and connected on two more in the next two minutes to take a one point lead with under four minutes to play. Park-Lane knocked down a shot from behind-the-arc herself to tie the game at 62 with 1:30 left in the game, and she found Cooks on the next play to take a 64-60 lead.
Tatum Rembao drilled a clutch three-pointer out of a timeout and forced head coach Bozzella to call a timeout. Park-Lane found Bembry with just 2.6 seconds remaining and Bembry, without hesitation, shot a deep 2-pointer to take a 66-65 lead that would ultimately stand as the final score.
Cooks scored a game-high 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to tack on another double-double this season alongside 3 blocks. Bembry earned her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Park-Lane added 14 points and 8 assists, while Espinoza-Hunter finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Seton Hall advances to the Big East Tournament semifinals, and will face second-seeded Villanova at 5:30 pm on Sunday, March 6th.
