In what was the team's final tune-up of the preseason, Seton Hall women's basketball defeated the Jefferson Rams 89-61 at home Saturday afternoon in Walsh Gym.
The Pirates were led by impact transfers Donnaizha Fountain and Taylor Brown, who scored 22 and 16 points respectively. The two transfers also dominated the glass for the Pirates, with Fountain grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. Brown made her mark on the glass with eight rebounds, five of them coming on the offensive end. Starting guards Kaela Hilaire and Nicole Jimenez also scored six points apiece.
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Pirate coach Tony Bozzella was satisfied with his team’s offensive performance.
“We shot the ball so poorly from three and we still scored 89 points,” Bozzella said. “I thought we handled their zone really well and I know we’ll be a good three-point shooting team.”
Although the Pirates won in convincing fashion by the final result, their defensive struggles were apparent all afternoon. At Big East media day, Bozzella made a point that his team would press and get out in transition this year.
While the transition offense netted the Pirates multiple buckets, the transition defense left much to be desired.
“We really were out of sync for long periods of this game," Bozzella said. "Our transition defense has been disgusting. We just can’t play this way and if we don’t start fixing that, we are going to get run out of the gym.”
Despite the lackluster defense, Bozzella was impressed by the performances of sophomore Shadeen Samuels and freshman Selena Philoxy. Each scored 10 points, and Philoxy also grabbed eight rebounds.
“She has had a tremendous transition,” Bozzella said about Philoxy. “She’s a hard worker and she might not know the plays or anything but she knows how to play basketball. She’s gotten a lot better and earned her spot.”
The Pirates now have a little under a week until they open their regular season on Nov. 10 at home against Saint Peter’s.
Andrew Lombardo can be reached at andrew.lombardo@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @lombardo_andrew.
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