Coach Bozzella’s new additions helped the Hall produce some of its best basketball in a 73-39 victory over St. Peter’s University.
Freshman Shailyn Pinkney got her first collegiate basket to begin the game for the Pirates, followed by a Lauren Park-Lane pull-up to put the Pirates up 4-3 early in the game. Sha’Lynn Hagans recorded her first score with a triple before Park-Lane had a beautiful steal-and-score sequence to draw an and-one, forcing the timeout from the Peacocks.
The Hall took a 19-10 lead into the second quarter after St. Peter’s beat the shot clock with a triple. After missing the exhibition game last week, Sidney Cooks ended a short second quarter drought with a difficult post-move to bring the lead to 23-14 with just under six minutes remaining in the half. St. Peters would fail to score for the remainder of the half, as Seton Hall exploded for a 36-14 lead headed into the break.
Shooting 50% as a team in the half, the Pirates were led by Hagans’s 10 points and Cooks’s near double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds. Park-Lane recorded five points and three assists, while Kae Satterfield had six points for her debut in the first half. St. Peters shot just 19% from the field in the first half, recording 11 turnovers and losing the rebound battle 25-16.
Despite a less-than-ideal first half, the Peacocks began to claw back with an 11-0 run lead by junior guard Rachel Kuhl’s two triples. Cooks would end the drought at the 5:55 mark of the third quarter, giving her another double-double. The Hall would bounce back to end the third frame as they held a 51-31 lead after Park-Lane beat the buzzer with a floater.
St. Peter’s was not able to overcome the deficit, and the Pirates walked away with a season-opening victory. Cooks led the way with a monster 16 point-16 rebound double-double to go with three steals and three blocks, alongside Hagans’s 16 points and four steals.
Satterfield recorded 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Park-Lane followed with 11 points and four assists. Pinkney, earning her first career start, recorded nine points. Jala Jordan played just seven minutes, though recorded four blocks and two steals to boost the Pirates’ defensive presence. Seton Hall held St. Peter’s to 27.6% shooting on the night and 27 total turnovers.
The Pirates move to 1-0 in their young season and look ahead as they travel to their cross-state rival Rutgers for a Friday night matchup in Piscataway.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu.
