The women’s basketball team lost 62-58 at home to Princeton, the reigning Ivy League champions and the no. 24 team in the nation, on Monday.
Princeton got on the board first, as Ellie Mitchell, the reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, converted on a jump shot in the low post. Seton Hall followed with an 8-0 run on the strength of four points from Sidney Cooks, though the Tigers fired back with three-straight triples for a 9-0 run of their own to take an 11-8 lead with just under 5 minutes left in the first quarter. The back-and-forth continued, and the Pirates took a slim 18-17 advantage into the second quarter.
Sha’Lynn Hagans put The Hall on the board in the second quarter with a layup on a fast break to extend the Pirates’ lead to four. Offense then slowed for both sides as the Pirates did not see another field goal for the next six minutes with two free throws from Lauren Park-Lane being the only offense during that span. Princeton would use this drought to take a 4-point lead with 3:04 left in the first half.
At the break, Seton Hall trailed the Tigers 29-28. The Pirates went 2-for-12, and Princeton did not connect on a field goal for the last two minutes of the half. Park-Lane led all scorers with 11 points, Cooks followed with seven points, and Hagans added five points.
Cooks opened the half with an easy bucket on the low block following a Princeton triple, though the offense stalled again for the next three minutes as Kae Satterfield connected on one-of-two from the line. Their next field goal would not come until the 5:11 mark of the third quarter thanks to a Shailyn Pinkney layup. Two free throws from the Tigers would give them a 4-point cushion headed into the final 10 minutes, 44-40.
Seton Hall fought through the fourth quarter to make a comeback, but they could not overcome the deficit. The Hall shot 42.6% from the field compared to Princeton’s sub-30% night, though Princeton visited the free throw line 20 times and converted on 15 of them. The Pirates were just 6-of-15 from the line in the loss.
Park-Lane led all scorers with 25 points and three assists. Cooks followed with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Hagans added 10 points. Satterfield and Mya Bembry pulled down 17 boards combined.
For the Tigers, Kaitlyn Chen led the way with 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Mitchell scored eight points and grabbed 23 rebounds to give Princeton a 47-to-37 rebound advantage.
The Pirates return to action on Nov. 17 in Walsh Gymnasium as they host Columbia at 7 p.m.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
