Jose Rebimbas served as acting head coach for Seton Hall Thursday as Pirates routed Wagner in season opener. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — One game does not tell the story.
The old cliche warns us that the season is a marathon, not a sprint. All that aside, Seton Hall put together a very impressive 40-minute performance in an 84-40 victory over Wagner on Thursday. The game at Walsh Gymnasium was the season opener for the Pirates, while Wagner dropped to 1-1 on the young campaign.
Points of Emphasis:
Stepping up: Seton Hall played without head coach
Tony Bozzella, who missed Thursday’s game due to health concerns. In his place, assistant coach Jose Rebimbas, a member of Seton Hall’s NCAA runner-up team of 1989, served as acting coach. Rebimbas has extensive head coaching experience, having spent two decades at William Paterson, where he turned the school into a Division III power.
Under Rebimbas’ direction, the Pirates showed similar qualities of a Bozzella-coached team. Getting out on the break and attacking the basket were foremost. The Pirates owned a 50-12 advantage on points in the paint and a 30-8 edge in points off turnovers.
The spurt: Living on a diet of 3-pointers can go
either way, feast or famine. In the first period, Wagner decided to seize any opportunity from long range. The Seahawks scored four of their six field goals from downtown. As the game progressed, it was evident shot selection was not coach Terrell Coburn’s main concern. The visitors’ two-possession deficit following the first period soon ballooned to 23 as Seton Hall went on a 17-0 run to start the second period. Wagner was unable to find the mark beyond or inside the arc, hitting just two of nine shots for the period. At halftime, the Seahawks were looking at a 50-22 deficit.
The second half saw much of the same. Wagner could never really mount a run to chip into the lead. At one point in the final stanza, the Pirates enjoyed a 46-point lead.
Great debut: Sometimes it takes a game or few for a player to grab your attention. Sometimes, it is immediate.
Faith Masonius definitely fits the latter
category. Playing her first game in Pirate blue and
white, the 6-foot-1 graduate transfer from Maryland scored a career-high 23 points while grabbing six rebounds, both game highs. Masonius showed nice footwork on the blocks, and also stepped outside and even brought the ball up against pressure. Masonius played at New Jersey power Manasquan
High School before heading to Maryland and is
definitely one to watch this season.
Nicole Melious, a transfer from La Salle, is one of nine new faces on Seton Hall’s roster this season. (Photo by Ray Floriani/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
Familiar faces: Seton Hall’s roster includes nine
newcomers, six transfers and three freshmen. A pair of veterans, though, made significant contributions.
Graduate guard Amari Wright, who contributed significantly last season, narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine assists. The jet-quick Wright also had four steals. I’yanna Lops, a graduate forward, used her 6-foot-3 size inside, scoring 15 points while adding six boards.
Turnovers: A great deal of Wagner’s struggles began with turnovers. The Seahawks were guilty of 26 miscues, leading to an excessively high 38 percent turnover rate. The offense could not get into a consistent flow and, as noted, the turnovers led to 30 Seton Hall points, many on transition runouts. Individually Wagner had one double-digit scorer, as junior guard Angelie Ricard scored 10 points. Ricard shot 4-of-8 from the field and was the lone Seahawk to connect on at least half of her field goal attempts. Freshman guard Elle Johansson added eight points in a relief role.
Notes: In a 69-possession game, Seton Hall held a
resounding 122-58 edge in offensive efficiency. The Pirates shot 55 percent from the floor (30 from 3-point range). Wagner shot 33 and 30 percent, respectively. Ironically, both teams were 7-of-23 from beyond the arc.
Balance was outstanding for the Pirates. Each of the ten players who saw the floor entered the scorebook. In addition, eight logged at least ten minutes of playing time. Seton Hall also dominated in rebounding (38-25), second chance (18-4) and fast break (12-0) points.
Next up for Seton Hall is a visit from Fordham on Tuesday evening. Wagner is back on the road, visiting Navy next Thursday.
In attendance was former Seton Hall standout Lauren Park-Lane. She will be playing professionally overseas in London this season. Following Seton Hall, Park-Lane played her graduate year at Mississippi State.
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