Rather than champagne toasts, Seton Hall women’s basketball celebrated New Year’s Eve with a conference win—one that was dominant from start-to-finish.
The Pirates (10-4, 4-1 BIG EAST) defeated the Georgetown Hoyas (8-5, 1-3 BIG EAST), 81-36. SHU’s 45-point margin of victory marks their second largest this season and the program’s largest ever against a BIG EAST opponent.
After Georgetown’s Khia Miller scored the opening points of the game, the Hoyas gained a 2-0 lead—which they held for just 39 seconds and would never gain back, as the Pirates responded with their best first quarter of the season, which set the tone for the rest of the game.
Following Miller’s basket, SHU went on a 13-1 run over the next five minutes of play, as they led 13-3 with four minutes left in the quarter. The Pirates then outscored the Hoyas 15-5 to end the first with a 28-8 lead—good for their most first-quarter points this season and tied for their opponent’s fewest.
In the first, the Pirates shot 9-for-14 (64%) from the field, 4-for-7 (57%) from deep and 6-for-7 (86%) from the line—impressive numbers, yes, but ones that are somewhat misleading, as it was the Pirates’ defense that gave them a 20-point first quarter lead. SHU held Georgetown to just 3-for-13 (23%) shooting in the first quarter, while also recording three blocks and seven steals—four of which came from junior guard Savannah Catalon alone.
At the top of the Pirates' 2-3 zone defense, along with sophomore guard Jada Eads, Catalon’s active hands made it difficult for the Hoyas to get the ball at the nail and attack the gaps of the zone. Her three steals helped the Pirates outscore the Hoyas 11-2 in points scored off turnovers in the first quarter, with her recording a steal and score of her own at the end of the quarter as well.
Although a quieter second quarter from SHU (who scored just 12 points), their defense, led by Catalon, continued to shine. Midway through the quarter, in a span of just over a minute, the Pirates managed to record three steals, two of which came from Catalon, and the other from sophomore guard Ja’Kahla Craft. The Pirates finished the second having held the Hoyas to even less points (5) and an even worse field-goal percentage (20%) than the first-quarter to take a 40-13 halftime lead. Georgetown’s 13 first-half points are the fewest in a single-half by a SHU opponent this season.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Pirates continued to dominate the Hoyas. SHU came out firing after the break, shooting 6-for-10 (60%) from the field and nearly matching their first-quarter scoring output with 23 points, as they led 63-24 heading into the fourth. Catalon managed to draw fouls in the third, as she scored six of her eight third-quarter points from the free-throw line. She finished the contest with a team-high 14 points, as well as a season-high seven steals—the most of any Pirate this season, and four shy of her career-high. Entering the game, Catalon had the most steals in the conference with 38.
SHU’s dominance through three quarters allowed head coach Anthony Bozzella to use more of his bench mob in the fourth, as nearly every Pirate on the roster saw minutes and scored in this one. This included Savanna Jones, who the whole team seems to rally behind. When the junior forward took a charge at the start of the fourth, the Pirates’ starters on the bench were loud and on their feet. It was an even louder reaction when Jones scored a layup plus the foul a few possessions later, as the bench erupted in cheer.
Some freshmen got minutes in the contest as well, with guards Ari Woodard, Jada Snow and Natalia Hall-Rosa playing in the fourth. The Pirates had their loudest reaction when Snow, who scored her first career point in the contest, found Hall-Rosa with a baseline bounce-pass through a Georgetown defenders’ legs for a corner three-pointer right in front of the Pirates’ bench that gave them their largest lead of the game, as they led 80-27 with about four minutes left in the game. Hall-Rosa finished with a career-high eight points, all of which she scored in the fourth.
With the 81-36 win, the Pirates held the Hoyas to the fewest points scored by a SHU opponent in conference play in program history. They also stole the ball from Georgetown 18 times, the most for the Pirates this season, who average 9.5 steals per game.
The win will be a huge confidence boost for the Pirates ahead of their biggest challenge yet on Jan. 3, when they travel to Storrs, Connecticut to face the No. 1 UConn Huskies (14-0 5-0 BIG EAST) for their sixth game of conference play.
Zachary Mawby is the head editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at zachary.mawby@student.shu.edu.
