The Seton Hall Pirates women’s basketball team fell to the Creighton Bluejays 70-60 Sunday in an overtime game at Walsh Gymnasium.
Seton Hall came into the game looking for its second consecutive win after a defeat of the Providence Friars on Friday night snapped a six-game losing streak. The Pirates would face tough competition against Creighton, though, whose 7-1 record in conference was good for second in the Big East.
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The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game, as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three points. Thanks to a late three-pointer by Claire Lundberg, the Pirates went into the second quarter with a 13-11 lead. The Pirates were competitive in the second quarter, extending their lead by as much as nine thanks to strong shooting performances from JaQuan Jackson and Lubirdia Gordon. The Bluejays were able to reduce the deficit to five, but the Pirates looked strong leading 29-24 at the end of the first half.
Creighton came out of the gate hot in the third quarter, keeping the score within three. The Bluejays managed to take the lead with 3:16 to go on a jumper by Sydney Lamberty. They kept a tight lead for the rest of the third and the majority of the fourth quarter, but with just 1:46 to go Jackson hit a jumper to tie the game at 52. She then hit the go-ahead jumper with just a minute left in the game. The Hall extended its lead to four thanks to free-throw shooting from LaTecia Smith, but a clutch three-point shot from Lauren Works tied the game up at 57. As time expired, Kaela Hilaire put up a layup for the win, but it rattled right out of the rim and the contest headed to overtime. A visibly exhausted Seton Hall team was unable to get an edge against the Bluejays in the extra five minutes, getting held to just three points in overtime. Creighton continued to shoot well and surged to a ten-point lead, which it maintained as the team defeated Seton Hall 70-60.
Lamberty led the way for Creighton with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Marissa Janning also contributed 13 points with six rebounds and seven assists. Jackson had 14 points for the Pirates, while Gordon added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Despite the loss, head coach Tony Bozzella was proud of the way his team performed.
“I thought our kids showed a lot of heart and character,” Bozzella said. “Unfortunately at the end a little bit of our inexperience showed.”
Bozzella expressed disappointment with the team’s hustle after the loss to DePaul on Jan. 8, but he said that the team’s effort has been a lot better in the past two games.
“Let’s see how we bounce back,” Bozzella said. “It will be a good character test for us.”
Seton Hall drops to 9-11 (2-7 in conference), while Creighton improves to 14-5 (8-1 in conference). The Pirates resume action on Friday, Jan. 27, when they host the 10-9 Xavier Musketeers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Walsh Gymnasium.
Matt Lapolla can be reached at matthew.lapolla@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @MatthewLapolla.
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