Ahead of their regular season opener against St. Peter’s on Nov. 4, Seton Hall’s women’s basketball team hosted Thomas Jefferson University for an exhibition match on Thursday at Walsh Gymnasium.
This comes after returning guards Savannah Catalon and Jada Eads were unanimously named to the Preseason All-Big East Team on Oct 21. The team was also picked in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll to finish third in the conference this season—the same place they finished last year.
Picked to finish second in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference’s (CACC) Preseason Poll, their opponents, the Jefferson Rams, entered the game after having appeared in their ninth CACC title game in the last 10 years last season. After finishing with a 24-8 overall record and 14-2 conference record, the Rams earned their seventh consecutive bid into the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament last season.
The game opened with back-to-back 3-pointers by senior transfer guard Jordana Codio and Catalon, as the Pirates took an early 6-2 lead—and they never looked back. Just five minutes later, the lead would grow to 20-6 after sophomore transfer forward Cam Rust hit a 3-pointer of her own. By the end of the quarter, it was 29-7, as SHU managed to shoot 55% (11-20) from the field en route to an early 22-point lead.
In the second quarter, just a possession after hitting her second three-pointer, Codio scored a tough and-one to make it 36-11 with eight minutes remaining. Minutes later, Codio scored another 3-pointer to give the Pirates a 43-21 lead at the end of the half.
In the first half, Codio had 17 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Eads and Catalon followed with nine and five points respectively. Although both teams scored 14 points in the second quarter, the Pirates’ 29-point first quarter was too much for the Rams to overcome.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Pirates continued to overwhelm the Rams on both offense and defense. After a pick and pop with Eads, Codio hit her fourth and final 3-pointer of the game for her 20th point, making it 48-21 early in the third quarter. With less than two minutes left in the third, senior forward Messiah Hunter made it 63-27 with a fastbreak layup after Eads found her with a no-look pass. At the end of the third, the Pirates led 66-29.
With seven minutes remaining in the game, freshman guard Ari Woodard saw her first action as a Pirate, later scoring her first points as a Pirate in the quarter as well.
SHU scored 26 points in the fourth quarter to win the game 92-42. Codio had a game-high 25 points shooting 10-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. Eads followed with 12 points of her own, and senior guard Shailyn Pinkney led the team in assists with six.
En route to their 50-point win, SHU led in every statistical category except turnovers. The Pirates forced Jefferson into 32 turnovers, scoring nearly half (42) of their points off of them.
The Pirates managed to dominate this game in large part thanks to transition offense, overwhelming defensive pressure, and roster depth. Seven Pirates scored at least eight points in the game, including returning players Eads, Catalon, and Hunter, as well as newcomers Codio, Rust, and freshman guard Zahara Bishops. Other newcomers to the team, like freshmen Natalia Hall-Rosa (three assists) and Jada Snow (three points) contributed to the win as well.
As previously reported in The Setonian, the success of the team this season will hinge on how productive the new additions to the roster can be—but if this game was any indication of what is to come, then Pirate Nation is in for a special season.
The Pirates will return to Walsh Gymnasium on Nov. 4 to host St. Peter’s for their regular season opener.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
