#MUWBB Falls to Seton Hall, 77-66

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - The Marquette women's basketball team dropped its first BIG EAST game of the season, 77-66, to Seton Hall on Friday afternoon at Walsh Gym.

Lauren Van Kleunen led MU (6-2, 3-1 BIG EAST) with 13 points and eight rebounds to tally her seventh double figure scoring output of the season. Sophomore guard Taylor Valladay scored a career-high 12 points, with eight of those coming in the first half. Camryn Taylor battled foul trouble for most of the first 20 minutes but came on strong in the second half to score all 10 of her points.

The Golden Eagles, who were back in action for the first time since Dec. 22, struggled to find their groove in the first half as they shot just 36 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 13 times. Seton Hall (5-3, 3-2 BIG EAST) was able to score 19 points off those turnovers and raced out to a 42-26 halftime lead.

SHU led 66-52 after a back and forth third quarter, but the Golden Eagles found their stride and ripped off an 11-4 run to cut the Pirates lead to 70-63 with 5:50 to play. MU held Seton Hall to just 20 percent shooting from the field in the quarter and the Pirates went over six minutes without a bucket in the final frame.

MU would get no closer, however, as it went on a scoreless drought of 5:23 and SHU ended the game on a 7-3 run.

Andra Espinoza-Hunter led Seton Hall with a game-high 25 points, which included seven 3-pointers. Desiree Elmore had 20 points and eight boards while Lauren Park-Lane finished with 14 points and a team-high six assists.

UP NEXT:
Marquette travels to St. John's for a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. Central time. FS1 will provide television coverage.

Keep up with the Marquette women's basketball program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWBB) and Instagram (@marquettewbb) and `liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWBB).