The 2022 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas continued on Friday as the Seton Hall women’s basketball team took on the Wisconsin Badgers after their loss to VCU on Thanksgiving.
Seven lead changes occurred within the first five minutes of the matchup, as Park-lane drilled three pointers on consecutive possessions to keep the game tight early. The Badgers took a 19-13 advantage with 1:57 remaining in the first frame, though a 9-0 run put Seton Hall up 22-19. Wisconsin’s Sania Copeland tied the game at 22 with a buzzer-beating triple.
The Pirates opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run and held Wisconsin scoreless for the first 4:32 of the frame. Jala Jordan led the run and capped it with back-to-back makes from behind-the-arc. Seton Hall did not let their foot off the gas and rode a 43-35 run into the break.
Park-Lane led the way in the first half with 14 points, 10 of which came in the first quarter. Sidney Cooks followed with 9 points, while Baines added 8 points. The team pulled down 25 first-half rebounds.
Wisconsin cut the lead to just 4 points, but 6-straight points from Park-Lane brought the lead back to 10 points with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter. Seton Hall kept the lead to five or more for the rest of the frame, and an easy jump shot with 38 seconds left gave the Pirates a 63-52 lead going into the final ten minutes.
Seton Hall kept the pressure going by not allowing the Badgers to score for four minutes dating back to the third quarter. Wisconsin could not get the lead to dip below 7 points for the remainder of the game, as the Pirates walked away with an 83-72 victory.
Lauren Park-Lane exploded for a career-high 37 points on an efficient 11-for-21 shooting, adding 4 assists. She moves into the top 10 on Seton Hall’s all-time scoring list. Jala Jordan posted her best game as a Pirate with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Azana Baines scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Bembry led all players with 10 rebounds while also contributing 8 points.
The Pirates improve to 3-3 on the season and snap a 3-game skid. Seton Hall returns to action on Nov. 26 when it takes on Georgia at 3:15 pm to conclude the 2022 Paradise Jam.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
