The Seton Hall Pirates took care of business with a victory over the Wagner Seahawks, 84-40, at Walsh Gymnasium.
The Pirates headed into this game after a strong showing in an 87-61 exhibition win against the Division II Jefferson Rams. However, head coach Anthony Bozzella was absent from the game due to health reasons. Wagner was coming off an 83-39 win over the Division III St. Elizabeth Eagles.
Both teams started the game with smothering defense, as they both forced five turnovers against each other. The Seton Hall offense ran through graduate forward Faith Masonius early on, with 11 of the Hall's first 13 points coming from the N.J. native.
Wagner refused to give up, however, making four of their first five attempts from distance. They managed to spread the love on the offensive end, keeping it at a six-point game at the end of the first quarter.
The wheels came falling off for the Seahawks during the second quarter. After four straight turnovers before their first shot attempt, Wagner finally scored their first point of the quarter on a free throw. Wagner finished the first half with 14 turnovers, as the Pirates shot 13-20 from the field to take a 50-22 lead into halftime.
The struggles for Wagner continued in the second half. They missed their first four shots on the half before a 3-pointer from graduate student Julia Fabozzi came 4:40 into the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Hall came out making four of their first five field goals. Masonius led the Pirates with six in the quarter and sophomore Savannah Catalon added five points of her own.
Masonius ended the game with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals on the game. Yaya Lops was the only other Pirate to score double figures, notching 15 points to go with six rebounds. Graduate student Amari Wright tallied 10 assists in a game for the fourth time in her collegiate career, to go along with nine points, four rebounds, and four steals.
Wagner was led by junior Angelie Ricard with 10 points, but she also tallied a game-high five turnovers. She was followed by Fabozzi, who had nine points, five boards, and four assists. The Seahawks' biggest problem was turnovers, recording 26 throughout the game.
The Pirates are currently 2-0 on the season and are looking forward to facing the Bryant Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 4:30 p.m.
John Misiewicz writes for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at john.misiewicz@student.shu.edu.
