Seton Hall women’s basketball defeated Xavier at Mohegan Sun Arena, 84-58, for a strong start to their 2023 Big East Tournament run. The Pirates went in confident, having a 2-0 regular season record against the Musketeers.
Sha’Lynn Hagans scored first for the Pirates with a layup thanks to an assist from Lauren Park-Lane. The Pirates took control of the game in the first half from the three-point line, going on an 8-0 scoring run late in the first quarter going into early in the second. The beginning of the second quarter saw the Hall capitalize from long-range, securing a 16 point lead.
The Musketeers bit back in the second with a 10-0 burst following back-to-back triples from Victoria Keenan. The Pirates rallied back to end the quarter 46-26 after an 18-2 burst, punctuated by an and-one bucket from Azana Baines followed by a quick layup from Jordan.
The Hall ended the first half scorching, shooting 63% from the field, while the Musketeers worked with 37% from the field. Park-Lane led the Pirates in scoring with 18 points and three assists, followed by eight points in the paint from Baines, and Keenan’s nine points from beyond the arc.
The Pirates exchanged baskets with the Musketeers until the middle of the third, when the Hall offense exploded in a 16-2 run extending their lead to 28 going into the fourth.
The Musketeers were unable to come back from the deficit in the fourth, as they were only able to cut the lead down to 23 before the clock expired. The Pirates ended the game shooting 53% from the field, complemented by 44% from the three-point line. Xavier posted a 35% field goal percentage and shot 40% from distance.
Leading the way for the Pirates was Lauren Park-Lane with 26 points to boost her Nancy Lieberman Award odds. Victoria Keenan ended with a season-high 18 points including six makes from behind-the-arc and Jordan added 12 points.
Seton Hall moves on to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, and the Pirates are slated to take on the Creighton Bluejays 9:30 pm on Saturday, March 4th back at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Christian Hui can be reached at christian.hui@student.shu.edu.
