The Seton Hall Pirates seeked revenge against No. 11 ranked Villanova Wildcats at home in their final regular season matchup.
Seton Hall jumped out to a four-point advantage thanks to baskets from Azana Baines and Lauren Park-Lane, though the Wildcats put together a 12-0 run led by eight points from Maddie Burke. Baines kept the team afloat with a three-pointer after four scoreless minutes. Villanova converted at the buzzer from behind-the-arc and entered the second quarter with a 19-12 lead.
The second quarter for the Hall was quiet as the team fluttered with a 10-point deficit for most of the frame. The Wildcats used a 6-0 burst to send the game to the break with their largest lead at 15 points. The shooting performance for the Pirates was poor as they shot 31.3% from the field, while Villanova shot 54.2%.
Baines led the team with 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting at the half and pulled down four rebounds.Sidney Cooks followed with seven points.
The Wildcats got off to a hot start as they connected on six of their first eight shots in the third quarter. With 5:32 remaining in the frame, Villanova led by 23 points. The Pirates’ deficit would grow to as large as 29 points, and they headed into the final ten minutes trailing 67-39.
The Pirates opened the fourth quarter with six straight points, but the Wildcats would keep their resilience as the deficit continued to grow. Villanova went on to win the Pirates’ final home regular-season game, 83-56.
The leading scorer for The Hall was Baines as she put up 22 points, five rebounds, and one block. Cooks had 12 points, four rebounds, and one steal. Park-Lane had a quiet night, scoring five points after taking just one shot in the second half along with five assists and three rebounds.
Seton Hall finishes the regular season with an even 10-10 record in conference play and a 17-13 overall record. The Pirates were named the six seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament and will match up against Xavier at Mohegan Sun Arena on March 3 at 4 p.m.
Nicholas Rodriguez can be reached at nicholas.rodriguez2@student.shu.edu.
