Eight-seeded Seton Hall uses wire-to-wire effort to defeat nine-seed Providence
By Julia Pagliarulo
Seton Hall Quotes |
Providence Quotes
MILWAUKEE—Seton Hall used 18 points from All-BIG EAST Freshmen Team honoree Kaela Hilaire, 17 points from JaQuan Jackson and nine points and 11 rebounds from Lubirdia Gordon to defeat Providence 73-60 in the first round of BIG EAST Tournament action.
The Pirates led or were tied with the Friars for every minute of action and snapped a seven-game losing streak heading into tonight’s action. This victory secures a 2-1 series advantage over Providence and improves the Pirates BIG EAST Tournament record to 22-32. This is also Seton Hall’s fifth tournament appearance in a row with at least one win.
For Providence, senior Sarah Beal notched 18 points, joining Allegra Botteghi with 16 points and Jovana “Yoyo” Nogic with 11 as the three Friars who hit double figures.
Seton Hall used over 60 percent shooting to take an 18-12 lead over Providence after one, with Jackson leading the way with eight points in the frame.
The Pirates strung together a 7-0 run in the middle of the second and extended their lead to 11 points midway through the quarter. They maintained control with a seven-point advantage at the half fueled by ten points from Jackson and 11 from Hilaire. Seton Hall shot a scorching 57.1 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes while holding the Friars to 42.9 percent shooting.
Providence came out of halftime with hot shooting and narrowed the deficit to as low as three points. But Seton Hall held the Friars scoreless for over three minutes and Lubirdia Gordon hit a put-back as time expired to take a 53-44 lead after three.
Back-to-back and-one layups for Providence in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter cut the Seton Hall lead to four but the Friars never got any closer as the Pirates made shots and free throws down the stretch to take the victory.
Seton Hall will take on first-seeded and nationally ranked No. 18/17 DePaul on March 5 at 6 p.m. Central. The Pirates have dropped the previous two meetings against the Blue Demons this season.