Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: Rutgers at Seton Hall, WBB

by Ray Floriani
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - Rutgers will enter the Big East Tournament later this week with momentum. The Scarlet Knights defeated Seton Hall 71-47 in a Big east Women's basketball game at Walsh Gym on Monday. The pace and possessions:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Rutgers	69	103
Seton Hall	67	70

Rutgers entered with a 92 offensive efficiency in their Big East games. Obviously this was one of their better performances on that end. Defense was excellent as the scarlet Knights outdid their 85 average in the defensive efficiency. The Four Factors:

		FTA
	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
Rutgers	57	33	35	28
Seton Hall	38	13	23	25

Progress
Up until tonight Seton Hall coach Anne Donovan was pleased with the Pirates' direction. Especially competing hard the latter weeks without leading scorer and rebounded Kandice Green, sidelined with an ankle injury against Notre Dame back on February 8th. Tonight, Donovan felt, the pirates "took a step back."

Rutgers shot the ball very well and utilized their size for a 26-16 advantage on points in the paint. That height advantage also translated into winning the boards (35-23 overall) and getting to the line more frequently.

Overall Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer was pleased with the offensive effort. Except for one area, turnovers. Rutgers' To rate was extremely high and Stringer was concerned they committed 19 turnovers. As the veteran mentor noted, the turnovers did not have an effect tonight but could in a one or two possession contest.

Seton Hall relied a great deal on the trey. Of their field goal attempts, 36% of the Hall's were from beyond the arc. Not many connected at they shot 4 of 19 (21%).

Hall trailed 30-20 at the half. They had a chance to come out and reduce that deficit but failed to do so. Over the first four minutes of the second half, four of Rutgers six possessions came up empty. There was a defensive stop by the Hall plus two turnovers and a shot clock violation. Still, the visitors actually added two points to their lead and for the Pirates it was an opportunity lost.

Game action Seton Hall-Rutgers
at Walsh Gymnasium

Opening 8 minutes saw the teams even, with the score tied at 9, in a less than artistic showing. The numbers:

		Off.
	Poss.	Eff.
Rutgers	15	60
Seton Hall	14	64

TO rates were 47% for Rutgers and 29% on the part of Seton Hall. We said the start wasn't pretty.

Flag man in the background before the 'demise'

April Sykes proved to be a difference maker. The 6 foot Rutgers swingman led all scorers with 25 points. Sykes was effective in the paint as well as out on the perimeter. She shot 11 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 7 beyond the arc. Her size proved to be a matchup nightmare for the Hall. "We zoned her and played her man," Seton Hall coach Anne Donovan said. "She (Sykes) is very versatile and had the ability to shoot over our defenders no matter which one we played (on her)." Chelsea Lee, Rutgers' 6-2 junior forward, added 16 points, 7 rebounds. Junior guard Jasmine Crew paced Seton hall with 18 points. The Manley formula results show how scoring alone can be a deceptive measure of performances:

		Manley
	Pts.	Eff.
Sykes	25	19
Lee	16	19
Crew	18	9

Crew was hampered by 6 of 14 shooting from the floor, no assists and 6 turnovers. Lee on the other hand tied Sykes thanks to her 5 of 7 shooting from the floor and 7 rebounds.

Seton Hall coach Anne Donovan
during her radio post game press conference
aired over the PA system at Walsh

Notes
Seton Hall is 1-15 in the Big East and 8-21 overall. The Pirates are the final seed in the Big east Tournament. Rutgers improved to 11-5 and 18-11 overall. By virtue of Marquette and Louisville losing, the Scarlet Knights earned the four seed. Usually the double bye is not too eagerly accepted by coaches. C. Vivan stringer welcomes it and the few extra days of rest given Rutgers small, in numbers, rotation. After about two laps, the flag slowly came down the mast, covering flagman that spelled a surprising and early end to the laps. It was that kind of night for Seton Hall.

April Syves and C. Vivian Stringer meet the media

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Guest Contributor Ray Floriani: At DePaul vs Seton Hall Women's Basketball

by Ray Floriani

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ - In the final minutes the game was available for the taking. Seton Hall came up short and dropped a 73-69 decision to DePaul in a Big east Women’s contest at Walsh Gymnasium.

In a 70 possession game, the Efficiency and Factors:

	Off		FTA
	Eff	eFG%	FGA	OR%	TO%
DePaul	104	39	36	44	17
Seton Hall	99	49	30	33	24

Turnovers, a ongoing problem for the Hall (they entered the game with a 31% TO rate in Big East play), reared its ugly head. Hall committed 16 turnovers resulting in the 24% rate on the evening.

A better showing. Entering the game Seton Hall was 0-5 in Big east play. All except a 14 point loss to Providence were twenty or more point games. The pre-game efficiency numbers tell the tale:

		Efficiency
	Poss	Off	Def	Margin
Seton Hall	71	59	106	-47

Rebounding probably was the story of the night. Kandice Green led the Hall with 23 points. Coach Phyllis Mangina credited Green’s offense but was upset the 6-1 sophomore forward managed only three rebounds. Especially since DePaul owned a 17-11 edge on the offensive glass.

‘Second shots always go in’. This quote was often echoed in practice by coach Larry Weise during my basketball manager days at St.Bonaventure. Actually second shots do not always go in but the point is well taken. Second shots are usually closer range than the first and can often lead to drawing fouls by the defense. DePaul’s edge in OREB percentage and FT Rate was no coincidence.

Not often you can see a player and be impressed after watching them just two minutes. That was the case with Sam Quigley. DePaul’s junior point guard is a take charge player who sees the floor, finds teammates and can drill a perimeter shot. Quigley led all scorers with 25 points. She handed out 6 assists but had to be a scorer in the stretch when the DePaul offense needed it most. The stat sheet credits her with 40 minutes but she actually got about a 30 second rest before coach Doug Bruno had her back on the floor.

Give the Hall credit. Down five at the half, Seton Hall came out and was hit by a 12-0 DePaul run. Rather than fold and fear another one sided loss coming, the Pirates came back and rallied behind Green and guard Ebonie Williams (19 points). Pirates took a late one point lead before DePaul answered and finished it in the waning moments.

Hall dropped to 8-11, 0-6 in conference. DePaul is now 13-6 with a 2-3 conference ledger. Blue Demons had two heartbreakers, a three point loss at Rutgers and an overtime setback at West Virginia.

“I expect us to win some games. We shot 53% the second half. We are starting to score now we have to rebound. When we put it together we will be much better.” - Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina

“We couldn’t look past Seton Hall. We came in 1-3 not exactly a glowing record. We have a lot of young players and are in a constantly learning stage.” - DePaul coach Doug Bruno

DePaul squad at center court