Seton Hall women’s basketball fell 62-48 to the Villanova Wildcats, ending their run in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal round at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Pirates struggled to find an offensive rhythm against the Wildcat’s smothering man-to-man defense for all 40 minutes of play.
Surviving St. John’s just a day before, the Pirates could not carry that same momentum into Sunday. The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-0 lead at the 6:50 mark of the first quarter, but SHU started to pick up momentum as the first quarter came to a close, trailing Villanova 18-7.
Even with the Pirates attempting to fight back in the first quarter, Villanova built a comfortable lead during their 12-0 opening run that SHU just could not overcome. Ultimately, The Hall could only cut the deficit to 11 points despite several scoring runs.
The Pirates were able to get Villanova sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe and senior forward Denae Carter into foul trouble in the first half, with both picking up two fouls a piece. This would force Villanova to send them to the bench for the majority of the second quarter.
Even with their bench players coming in, Villanova still went on a 14-1 run with a score of 36-16 before SHU head coach Anthony Bozzella called a timeout at the 2:28 mark of the second quarter.
Coming out of the timeout, SHU went on a 9-0 run to close the half, bringing it back to an 11-point game going into halftime, the Pirates trailing 36-25.
SHU went into the second half focusing on forcing the ball out of Bascoe’s hands in their man-to-man and 2-3 zone defensive sets. The Pirates would send various traps and blitzes out of these defensive sets to hold her only two points scored in the second half.
SHU came up with numerous defensive stops in the second half after making this adjustment, but could not get their shots to fall, shooting 17-for-52 (33%) from the field and just 3-for-16 (19%) on 3-pointers.
Villanova focused on doing the same to senior guard / forward Jordana Codio. After a career-high 35-point the night before, the Wildcats also sent traps and double teams Codio’s way, making it hard for her to get a clean shot.
Codio was able to draw some fouls due to their defensive gameplan, though, but only shot 5-for-11 (45%) from the stripe. Codio shot 11 of the teams 19 total free throws, which the Pirates also struggled with, shooting 11-for-19 (58%) from the line.
Even with the lack of efficiency from the Pirates, Codio and freshman guard Zahara Bishop both scored a team-high 13 points. Codio shot 4-for-16 (25%) from the field and Bishop shot 5-for-8 (63%) from the field while also grabbing 7 rebounds.
Villanova’s 12-0 opening run made it tough for SHU to get back into the game, and the Pirates bad shooting night did not make it any better.
Although the Pirates’ BIG EAST postseason run comes to an end, they will learn on March 15 if they have a chance to extend their season either in the NCAA Tournament or another postseason tournament.
Jayden Bracket is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jayden.bracket@student.shu.edu.
