Pirates’ comeback falls just short Thursday against Princeton

Princeton guard Skye Belker directs Tiger offense against Seton Hall. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The stat sheet will say Princeton held the lead for 34 minutes.

Regardless, it was not easy Thursday night, as the visiting Tigers outlasted Seton Hall, 78-75, inside Walsh Gymnasium, handing the Pirates their first loss of the season while improving to 3-2.

Points of Emphasis

Inauspicious start: Seton Hall trailed Princeton at halftime, 39-31. Naturally, it was imperative to come out strong right from the first few possessions in the second half.

Princeton began the third period with a Skye Belker 3-pointer. The Tigers scored on their first four possessions, fueling a 9-2 run to open a 16-point lead and necessitate a Pirate timeout.

Tony Bozzella reflects during a timeout. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Comeback: Seton Hall rallied, getting the deficit to four after three periods. Yaya Lops hit three shots from beyond the arc. Faith Masonius struggled early, then came around inside the second half. Defensively, some three-quarter court pressure, mixed in with zone defense in the halfcourt, proved effective for Tony Bozzella’s Pirates.

“They threw us out of our rhythm and bothered us

with the zone,” Princeton coach Carla Berube admitted. “They forced turnovers and their quickness and athleticism also allowed them to get deflections.”

Stop the bleeding: Trams, especially good ones, make significant runs. Responding often determines

what side of the ledger you will eventually finish.

“My message was to stay locked in,” Berube said. “Lops outside and Masonius inside did some damage. Tony does a great job with the defensive pressure, so we emphasized taking better

care of the ball.”

Momentum: This can be another determinant. If a

team is coming back and eventually ties or takes a

lead, that can be a game-changer.

Seton Hall was able to get within one possession with just under six minutes remaining in the contest, but could draw no closer. The final three-point difference was courtesy of Jada Eads hitting a two-point jumper at the buzzer.

Defense: This aspect had to be a concern, and

something Bozzella and his staff will address in practice.

On one hand, as mentioned, the zone utilized in the

second half, was effective. Seton Hall forced 21 turnovers, which left Princeton with an excessively high 29 percent turnover rate. On the half-empty side, the Pirates did not close out well enough on the perimeter. Princeton’s ball movement afforded the Tigers too many open looks from downtown, especially in the corners. The Tigers shot 12-of-19 from beyond the arc. Overall, they connected on 62 percent (29-of-47) of their field goal attempts.

Road warriors: Four of Princeton’s five games have

been away from the friendly confines of Jadwin Gym. The next four games are all away from home. They will not host a game until December 11, when Rhode Island visits.

“We had a tough time getting teams to play us at

our place,” Berube noted. “As the schedule worked out, we just had to play a lot of away games this year.”

Berube feels hitting the road early will only benefit her group as it enters Ivy League play.

Notes and Numbers: Seton Hall committed only 11

turnovers, a very commendable 11 percent turnover rate. The Pirates also enjoyed a 29-15 edge in points off turnovers. It was a case of shooting curing the turnover ailment, as Princeton checked in with a superlative 75 percent effective field goal percentage while four players ended the night with double-figure point totals, led by Belker with a game-high 21 points. Seton Hall also placed four in double digits, led by Lops with 20 while Masonius added 15 (13 in the second half).

Belker, by the way, was a multi-sport athlete at

Windward High School in Los Angeles. The 5’9”

sophomore guard lettered in basketball, tennis, track

and beach volleyball. Berube lauded the play of 6’4” junior Tabitha Amanze. The product of Blair Academy came off the bench to score 12 points while mixing it up inside.

Princeton won the rebounding battle by a 28-21

count. The Tigers also led 29-15 in bench points, though Eads scored 12 of those Seton Hall points in a good showing in relief.

Next up for Princeton is another road trip, this one a

short 18-mile trek to Piscataway to face rival Rutgers Sunday.

“It is still a rivalry,” Berube said. “I think all three schools—Rutgers, Princeton and Seton Hall—should play each other every year. It would be good for New Jersey basketball.” 

Seton Hall does not face Rutgers this season, but does take a trip out west next week to battle powerful USC and its elite sophomore, Juju Watkins, Wednesday in Palm Springs.

Berube played at UConn on Geno Auriemma’s first

national championship team in 1995. She also remembers the Huskies making a trip to Walsh Gym  the year before and exiting with a loss.

“(Seton Hall) had an excellent player, Jodi Brooks, who was outstanding that night,” she recalled.