Seton Hall ties Fordham at end of regulation, steals win from Rams in double OT

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The stat sheet told us there were 24 lead changes and 16 ties. That, in effect, only told part of the story.

This was a three-hour marathon, a game that filled a notebook. A game that seemed to leave not only players and coaches spent, but all others in attendance as well, and at the end of the night, a double-overtime win as Seton Hall defeated Fordham, 90-83, at Walsh Gymnasium.

Thursday’s contest saw the Pirates improve to an unblemished 4-0, while Fordham now sits at 3-3.

Points of Emphasis:

Savannah Catalon: Seton Hall appeared dead in the water approaching the end of regulation. The Pirates’ junior guard evidently never got the memo. 

With four seconds remaining, Fordham’s Ornella Niankan went to the line for two free throws. Seton Hall had no timeouts remaining, and the Ram bench was already in a celebratory mood. Niankan missed both attempts.

On the second miss, Catalon grabbed the rebound and was fouled. With two seconds remaining, she found nothing but net on both attempts. Fordham, also out of timeouts, could only inbound 94 feet away from the basket and threw a desperation pass to halfcourt that was broken up by the Pirate defenders.

Prior to Catalon’s free throws, the officials were checking the time before Fordham went to the line. Catalon asked coach Tony Bozzella, “If I get fouled on a defensive rebound, do I get to shoot?”

“She drew the foul and that’s a mark of a great player,” Bozzella said. “She was thinking ahead. She’s always thinking ahead and that’s why she’s one of the best players to ever play here.”

Catalon scored 15 of her 20 points in the fourth period and the two overtime periods. In addition, she played the final 13 minutes of the contest with four personal fouls.

Alexis Black: What more can you say? A game-high 42 points, including a 7-for-12 showing from beyond the arc. Fordham’s junior guard logged 47 minutes and almost willed her team to a win.

“Alexis Black put up one of the best performances ever against us,” Bozzella said. “And every now and then, you run into that.”

As the game wore down to the final seconds and Seton Hall was icing the victory, Black stood near halfcourt during a Pirate free throw, her hands on her knees, totally spent after giving it all and then some, in a valiant effort.

“Alexis is a baller,” Fordham coach Bridgette Mitchell said of her backcourt star. “We say it all the time, God gave you the ability, and she takes pride playing with her teammates.”

Foul mood: Seton Hall was 32-of-45 from the line, while Fordham checked in at 13-of-20. The Rams were called for 30 fouls, eight more than the Pirates. Mitchell was less than pleased with that scenario.

“For them to go to the free throw line 45 times and us going only 20 times, that’s unheard of,” she said. “I know we foul, but we couldn’t have that many fouls, right? We just have to make sure we are controlling the controllables and doing what we can. After the game, we talked about what we can control, and officiating is something that is out of our control.”

Stepping up: On a night when Jordana Cordio had more fouls than points, several of her Pirate teammates answered the call. Mariana Valenzuela scored a career-high 21 points, shooting 5-of-8 from deep. Ja’Kahla Craft scored seven points while also grabbing seven rebounds in 18 minus off the bench. Zahara Bishop added nine points in relief as well.

Messiah Hunter scored only five points, but with 1:10 to go in the second overtime, she hit a huge three that put Seton Hall up five and in great position to close the game out.

“She comes in at 7:30 every morning and shoots with coach Jose (Rebimbas),” Bozzella said of the senior forward. “She wants to start more than anybody, but accepts her role and says I will do my best when I am in the game. We need 14 players like her.”

Bozzella also praised Jada Eads. The sophomore guard scored 16 points in 27 minutes.

“Jada is ill, but not contagious,” Bozzella said. “The doctor cleared her to play. We thought we might not get 10 minutes from her, but she gave us 27. She played her heart out and could barely walk at the end of the game.”

Notes: Fordham shot 43 percent from the field, while Seton Hall checked in at 32 percent. The Rams also held a 48-46 rebounding advantage while the Pirates enjoyed a 21-16 edge on the offensive glass.

Even with Black burying shots from long range, Fordham outscored Seton Hall in the paint, 42-24. The Hall countered with a 28-18 difference in points off turnovers.

Fordham’s Ugne Sirtautaite is no stranger to Bozzella. The Lithuanian junior forward played at Providence last season, and was the Rams’ other double-digit scorer besides Black on Thursday, with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Seton Hall travels to Princeton on Tuesday before hosting Butler in the Big East opener for both teams. Fordham will host Manhattan Sunday in the Battle of the Bronx.

The best line of the night may have come from Seton Hall’s Matt Sweeney, the associate athletic director for communications and women’s basketball media contact. As he handed out postgame stats, Sweeney quipped, “I hope no one had dinner plans.”

If anyone did and missed them, this game was worth it.