Seton Hall women’s basketball will continue its postseason play by earning a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
After Sunday night’s selection show, the Pirates learned that they would host the fourth-seeded Missouri Tigers in the first round of the WBIT on Thursday evening.
SHU fell short of reaching the NCAA Tournament by losing to the Villanova Wildcats in the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals. Without a conference championship title, the Pirates had a low chance of making the tournament, not even being on the bubble.
Despite missing the tournament, the WBIT gives the program an opportunity to compete in the postseason on their home floor.
The Pirates aggressive style defense helped keep them afloat as the season came to an end bearing the injuries to the team. Even with multiple players going down, the extra time from the BIG EAST Tournament to Thursday night has allowed SHU to get healthy and regain some of their depth.
A key contributor to the Pirates BIG EAST Tournament run was senior guard / forward Jordana Codio, who led the team in scoring and shot 44% from the field during their run.
Among their two games in the conference tournament, Codio scored a career-high 35 points against the St. John’s Red Storm to advance The Hall to the semifinal.
Named to the All-Tournament Team after such a performance, Codio looks to keep her offensive momentum going heading into the WBIT to get past the Missouri Tigers.
The Pirates also have two unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team players in junior guard Savannah Catalon and graduate forward Mariana Valenzuela.
Catalon leads the team in scoring, averaging 13 points per game during the regular season on 40% shooting from the field, while Valenzuela leads the team in rebounding with seven rebounds per game while shooting 47% from the field.
Both Catalon and Valenzuela contribute on both ends of the floor, with Catalon being named to the All-Defensive Team, leading the team in total steals with 84, while Valenzuela leads the team in total blocks with 26.
Freshman guard Zahara Bishop was also selected to the All-BIG EAST Freshman team, averaging 10 points in her last five games. Bishop looks to be another key contributor to the Pirates postseason.
With a healthier Pirates squad, head coach Anthony Bozzella looks to lead The Hall to a first-round victory against the Tigers after sustaining a second-round loss to the Portland Pilots last season
Should SHU advance past the Tigers, they will play the winner of top-seeded BYU and Alabama A&M in round two on Sunday, March 22.
With a 10-5 home record, the Pirates look to defend the ship at Walsh Gymnasium on Thursday, March 19 to extend their postseason run.
Jayden Bracket is a writer for The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jayden.bracket@student.shu.edu.
