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Notes From St. Peter’s And Seton Hall


Notes From St. Peter’s and Seton Hall

by Ray Floriani

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – They had a double-digit lead in the second half and appeared to be in full control. By the final buzzer the Manhattan women’s team sweated out a two-point victory over St. Peter’s at Yanitelli Center Friday evening. And Manhattan did sweat as a three-point attempt by St. Peter’s was airborne at the buzzer only to miss.

The 61-59 Lady Jasper win pushed their MAAC record to 5-1, while St. Peter’s fell to 4-2. Both schools are in the midst of solid seasons with Manhattan at 10-4 overall and St. Peter’s 12-5.

“Over the years we have not won a lot of games here,” Manhattan coach Myndi Hill said. “It’s a tough place to play. Did you hear how loud their fans got late in the game?”

Fans aside, the St. Peter’s defense had a great deal to do with the course of the game. The Lady Jaspers enjoyed an eight-point halftime lead that grew to a comfortable double-digit margin. Then St. Peter’s coach Stephanie DeWolf got out of a zone and went man-to-man. Manhattan found the good perimeter and inside looks, coming via good ball movement were no longer available against the St. Peter’s man.

“We had several players (three) play over 35 minutes,” Hill said. “We were getting tired. But that’s not to discredit St. Peter’s defense. In Johnell Burts they have probably the best defensive player in the league.”

Burts, a senior guard, scored 12 points , partially due to her defense creating offense. Charlene Riddick added a dozen inside while Lauma Reke led the way with 14 points, most coming as part of the St. Peter’s rally.

As the Lady Jaspers struggled offensively the ball eventually was put in the hands of Caitlin Flood. The senior forward, one of the MAAC’s best players, hit a succession of key shots to keep St. Peter’s from getting a lead. Flood finished with a game-high 27 points, which were almost equally distributed between paint and perimeter. She was also 8 of 9 from the charity stripe.

“Her game has really evolved over her college career,” Hill said of her leading scorer. “Caitlin can put it on the floor, hit the three and is not afraid to shoot. She’s not only our hardest but our smartest worker as well.”

Besides her 27 points, Flood added 7 rebounds 3 assists and 3 steals. Despite being the objective of St. Peter’s defense, she virtually did it all, to the benefit of Hill and her Manhattan teammates.

Other Notes

  • Jeremy Hazell had quite a week. The Seton Hall freshman was largely responsible for Big East victories over South Florida and Louisville at the Prudential Center. Against South Florida on Thursday, Hazel scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Pirates to a 74-64 triumph, their first in conference this season. Hazell was 5 of 11 from three-point range (8 for 16 overall) and scored 6 of Seton Hall’s 8 second half field goals as they held off the visiting Bulls. Against Louisville two nights later, Hazell was on fire, scoring 29 points (with 8 treys) as the Hall rallied from 14 down the second half to upset the Cardinals 92-82.
    For the 6-5 guard, everything hasn’t come easy with double figure nights an expectancy. Following a 28-point outing in the Big East opening loss to UConn, Hazell went on the road. For Hazell “freshman orientation” away from home in the Big East meant a tough week. He shot a combined 1 of 13 at Marquette and Pitt and scored only 2 points in the two Hall losses.
    “He had a great game against UConn,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said following the South Florida contest. “He had two at Marquette and a lot of that credit goes to Tom Crean. The Marquette coach is relentless in preparation and was ready for Hazell. (Hazell) found the road in this conference is tough for a freshman. He’s a talented kid, but as a first year player he’ll have his ups and downs.”
    With the former, the player Gonzalez likens to former Pirate great John Morton, has already provided thrills and a few big wins for Seton Hall faithful.
  • South Florida, in its third Big East season, is still searching for that elusive first road win. The past doesn’t concern first year Bull mentor Stan Heath. “This is the first time for me and my players to play at Seton Hall,” Heath said following the loss. “What happened in the past I don’t give a s__t. We need a (road) win. We have to put together a good 40 minutes. We can’t miss layups and shoot 41 percent from the line and we need a full effort on the defensive end.”

     

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