Women’s basketball had their Senior Day celebration where they hosted Xavier at Walsh Gymnasium for a Saturday matinee matchup following a 1-1 back-to-back against DePaul.
Lauren Park-Lane put the Pirates on the board with a floater at the 7:18 mark of the first quarter. The Musketeers built an 11-5 advantage, the largest of the game so far, with under three minutes remaining, though the Hall used a 7-0 run to take the lead back. Xavier tied it at 13 headed into the second quarter.
The Pirates built a four-point advantage, though Xavier retaliated with a 9-2 burst with just under six minutes before halftime. Park-Lane cut the deficit to one, and Cooks fired back with a three-pointer that began a 12-2 run for Seton Hall, which allowed the team to take a 36-31 lead into the break.
Both teams shot over 50% in the first half. Park-Lane led all scorers with 14 points and three assists. Cooks added 10 points in the first half, and Azana Baines put up six points and four rebounds.
Leading 39-33, The Hall used a 9-0 burst to take a commanding 15-point lead with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Musketeers closed the frame with six straight points to come within seven points of the Pirates.
Xavier could not cut the lead down past eight points, and Seton Hall was able to seal the win with an 8-2 run to close the game, the final score being 72-59.
Park-Lane led all scorers while recording a double-double of 20 points and ten assists on 9-for-15 efficiency. Baines had 19 points and ten rebounds off the bench for the Hall. Cooks added ten points on the strength of 2-for-3 from beyond-the-arc and pulled down six rebounds.
Seton Hall improves to 10-8 in conference play and 17-11 overall. The Pirates return to the court on Feb. 24 when they travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on Butler at 7 p.m.
Thomas Donnelly can be reached at thomas.donnelly@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @_tommyd023.
