South Orange, NJ - Seton Hall put points on the board, in the end though it was defense and a strong effort allowing the Pirates to defeat Marquette 82-78 at Walsh Gymnasium. Sunday’s outcome improved the Pirates to 6-3 (2-0 Big East) while 24th ranked Marquette is now 7-2 (1-1 Big East).

Possessions: 77 - Quick paced contest as both teams looked to get into transition.

Offensive Efficiency: Seton Hall 107, Marquette 101

Four Factors:

What Seton Hall did well. Defend. After trailing 21-20 after the first period, Tony Bozzella’s group held the Golden Eagles to 12 second period points. The Hall led 40-33 at intermission and Marquette was forced to play catch up. Seton Hall did a good job adjusting to Marquette’s backdoor series that was effective the first ten minutes. "They (Seton Hall) forced into a jump shooting game and we didn’t hit," lamented Marquette coach Megan Duffy. "Today we needed to play our best game," Bozzella added, "and we did."

What Marquette did well. Compete and get an excellent performance from Chloe Marotta. In the second half Seton Hall had a few opportunities to gain separation. Each time the Golden Eagles answered. Marotta paced Marquette with 30 points while grabbing a game high 12 boards. She was a force down low. "In the past she (Marotta) did the dirty (defense and rebounding) work," Bozzella said. "She has improved her overall skill set and today we didn’t have an answer for her."

Marquette had a hard time solving the Hall’s senior duo of Lauren Park-Lane and Sidney Cooks. The 5’6" Park-Lane led all scorers with 31 points while dishing out a game high 7 assists. She continuously broke down the defense with her penetration in the paint. "Lauren (Park-Lane) was awesome," Duffy praised. "She was the difference in the game." Cooks, at 6’4" was effective on the low blocks scoring 23 points.

Seton Hall had a few ‘bumps in the road’ in non-conference play. Marquette expected a difficult assignment. "They are tough," Marotta said of the Hall. "We knew they would be tough. We executed today but just not enough. In the Big East everyone knows one another so it’s never easy."

Marotta, a Mequon, Wisconsin native, was familiar with Cooks who hails from Kenosha. "I knew about her (Cooks) since my high school days," Marotta said. "We never faced each other in high school but I knew of her career very well. She’s an excellent player."

Next up for Marquette, a December 7th meeting with Morgan State at the Al McGuire Center.