Fourth Quarter Dooms Pirates in Loss to Mizzou, 67-57 - Big East Conference Skip To Main Content

Big East Conference

The BIG EAST Conference The Official Website of The BIG EAST Conference

Members

Women's Basketball

Fourth Quarter Dooms Pirates in Loss to Mizzou, 67-57

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – In her final collegiate game, graduate student Mariana Valenzuela (Mazatlan, Mexico) had a double-double with team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds, but the Seton Hall women's basketball team went cold in the fourth quarter and fell to Missouri, 67-57, in the opening round of the WBIT on Thursday.

With the game knotted at 52 after three quarters, the Pirates offense froze in the fourth quarter, shooting just 2-for-22 from the floor, and going scoreless for a period of 7:12.  During the drought, the Pirates saw their deficit grow from two points to 11 points with under a minute left to play.

The loss ends a solid season for Seton Hall with a 19-13 final record, a WBIT berth and a third-place finish in the final BIG EAST standings.

Joining Valenzuela in double-figures in scoring, sophomore Ja'Kahla Craft (Elk River, Minn.) returned after missing five games with an injury and had 15 points, six rebounds and a career-high six steals.

THE STORY:
Valenzuela drained a pair of early three-pointers to give The Hall a 6-3 lead, but Missouri answered back with a 6-0 spurt to reclaim the lead.  Seton Hall's defense forced eight Tiger turnovers in the first 10 minutes and the Pirates' offense drained four three-pointers.  The Hall took a 17-14 lead into the second.

Craft's third made three-pointer of the first half gave The Hall a 25-19 lead, but Missouri again went on a 6-0 burst to tie the score at 25 with 2:11 left before halftime.  A made jumper by Ari Woodard (Oviedo, Fla.) with 32 seconds left gave The Hall a 29-27 lead at the half.  The Pirates shot just 31.3 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, compared to 42.3 percent by Missouri, but they forced 14 Tiger turnovers.

Seton Hall's defense forced two steals at midcourt on back-to-back Missouri possessions, which turned into a pair of easy layups to give the Pirates a 45-38 lead with 4:27 left in the third quarter.  The Tigers, however, answered with a 10-1 run to grab a 48-47 advantage with 1:43 to go.  After two more lead changes, the teams were tied at 52 after three quarters.

A layup by Valenzuela cut The Hall's deficit to 56-54 with 7:53 left in regulation, but then The Hall went on a scoring drought for 7:12 which allowed Missouri to take a 65-54 advantage with just 41 seconds remaining.  The Hall simply couldn't find its range as the Tigers opened the quarter with a 13-2 run and the Pirates made just one of their first 20 shots.

THE NUMBERS:
  • Seton Hall was 21-for-74 (28.4%) from the floor for the game, while Missouri was 26-for-54 (48.1%).  The Hall was 9-for-43 (20.9%) from three-point range, while the Tigers were 6-for-21 (28.6%). 
  • Valenzuela had a double-double with team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
  • The Hall out-rebounded Missouri, 43-to-41, which included a massive 16-to-3 edge on the offensive glass and an 11-to-2 advantage in second-chance points.
  • Craft had 15 points with six rebounds and a career-high six steals.
  • Seton Hall was 6-for-8 (75.0%) from the free-throw line, while Missouri was 9-for-13 (69.2%).
  • Woodard had seven points, six assists and career-highs of seven rebounds and five steals.
  • Seton Hall forced 24 turnovers, while the Tigers forced 17.  The Hall had a 22-to-9 advantage in points-off-turnovers.

THE NOTES:
  • Seton Hall completes its 2025-26 season with a 19-13 final record, while Missouri improves to 17-16.
  • This was the first-ever meeting between Seton Hall and Missouri.
  • The Hall drops to 1-3 all-time in WBIT games and 14-15 all-time in games in the NCAA Tournament, WNIT and WBIT.
  • With five steals tonight, junior Savannah Catalon (Mansfield, Texas) moves past former Pirate Ashley Bush into eighth place on Seton Hall's career list with 205.
  • With a made three-pointer in tonight's game, Catalon moves into a tie with former Pirate Cecilia Lindqvist for 12th place on Seton Hall's career list with 109.
  • Valenzuela's double-double is the fifth of her career, all recorded this season.
  • It's the 16th time this season that The Hall has out-rebounded its opponent, but only the third time it's lost in those games (13-3).
  • This was the 11th time this season that Seton Hall has forced at least 20 turnovers and the 13th time that it has collected at least 10 steals.
  • Seton Hall's 28.4 percent shooting is a season-low, while its 18 steals are tied for the season-high.
  • Catalon's 89 steals this season rank third-most in a single-season in program history.
  • Seton Hall's 43 three-pointer attempts are the most in a single-game in program history.
UP NEXT:
With the loss, Seton Hall's 2025-26 season comes to an end with a 19-13 final record.  The Pirates will return to the floor next season.