After opening the season with a massive victory over St. Peter’s, the Seton Hall women’s basketball team traveled to the Jersey Mike’s Arena in New Brunswick to take on Rutgers.
Both the Pirates and the Scarlet Knights struggled offensively to begin the in-state rivals’ matchup, though Sidney Cooks knocked down back-to-back three-pointers with under 4 minutes remaining in the first frame for a 14-10 advantage. Rutgers would then go on a 7-2 run and close out the quarter with a slim edge, 17-16.
The Hall took the lead back early with a layup from Shailyn Pinkney at the 9:39 mark. Pinkney’s basket sparked an 18-2 scoring burst highlighted by three of her four second-quarter triples from Lauren Park-Lane. Mya Bembry capped off the run with a sweet post move for a 36-21 advantage for the Pirates. Kae Satterfield kept the lead at 15 with just 13 seconds remaining in the half, but Rutgers’ Kai Carter beat the buzzer as Seton Hall took a 44-31 lead into the break.
Park-Lane knocked down four shots from behind-the arc in the second quarter to help the Pirates run away in the first half. Cooks dominated with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Hagans followed with 9 points in the half.
Scoring slowed to begin the third quarter until Cooks found an open layup in the paint. Seton Hall would extend the lead to 12 points thanks to a jumper from Park-Lane with 4:53 remaining in the quarter. The Scarlet Knights retaliated with an 8-0 run in the final minutes to cut the lead down, 55-42, headed into the fourth frame.
The Pirates opened the final quarter with a 12-1 run, six of which were from Sidney Cooks, to get out of reach from Rutgers, as the lead grew to 67-43 with 7:11 left in the game. They would fail to knock the lead down below 17 points for the remainder of the matchup, and Seton Hall emerged victorious in the Battle of New Jersey, 75-57.
Four Pirates notched double digits. Sidney Cooks exploded for 29 points on 12-for-19 shooting, along with 11 rebounds and three steals on Friday night. Park-Lane had 18 points and dished eight assists to become just the third Seton Hall player to reach 500 career assists. Sha’Lynn Hagans scored 12 points and Shailyn Pinkney continued to impress with 10 points and eight rebounds. Mya Bembry grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in the blowout victory.
Seton Hall will return home and face another New Jersey opponent, as the Princeton Tigers visit Walsh Gymnasium on Monday, November 14th. The game will tip-off at 7:00 pm.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023
