Only two games remain on the slate for the women's basketball team after a year marked with blowouts losses and disappointing Big East defeats, but the Pirates need at least one victory to avoid the first single-win conference season in program history.The trouble for Seton Hall is that both matchups come against teams ranked within the nation's Top 25.The Pirates will host No.7 Notre Dame on Saturday before taking on No. 13 Georgetown on March 1. Seton Hall has not defeated the Irish since a 13-point victory four years ago in the 2005-2006 season.The Fighting Irish (24-3, 11-3) are also ranked No. 4 in the Big East. Before defeating Marquette by 15 points on Tuesday, Notre Dame had lost two consecutive games.Despite their recent losses, Notre Dame comes in with a balanced lineup. The Irish have had at least seven different players lead their team in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. In addition, all but two of Notre Dame's 13 players have scored in double figures at least once this year.Freshman guard Skylar Diggins leads the Irish averaging 14.6 points per game. Another weapon for Notre Dame is senior guard Lindsay Schrader, who scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds in only 20 minutes of their game against Marquette on Tuesday.Notre Dame is also forcing 23.4 turnovers per game this season. Meanwhile, Seton Hall has been struggling offensively this season to hold onto the basketball, averaging 17.4 turnovers per contest. After their last home game, Seton Hall will take a road trip to Washington, D.C. where they will play Georgetown at McDonough Arena for their last regular season game. Last season, Seton Hall defeated Georgetown in back-to-back games. On senior day, the Pirates defeated the Hoyas by 10 points. Four days later, the Hall ousted Georgetown with a 25-point victory in the first round of the Big East Tournament. The Hoyas (23-4, 12-2) are ranked No. 3 in the Big East.Georgetown is on a three game win streak. Before facing Seton Hall, however, the Hoyas will play Jacksonville State and No. 1 UConn on Saturday.The Hoyas are lead by senior forward Jaleesa Butler who is averaging about 10 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and junior guard Monica McNutt who is averaging 11.2 points and all but 4 rebounds per game. Also pitching in is freshman guard Ta'Shauna Rodgers who is averaging 18.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Regardless, the season will not end at Georgetown for Seton Hall. All 16 teams compete in the Big East Championship from March 5 through March 9 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Krissy Wrobel can be reached at kristine.wrobel@student.shu.edu.
Comments
