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A few days after the men’s team released their non-conference schedule, the Seton Hall Women’s Basketball team did the same thing. Just like the men’s, I waited the whole summer for the women’s schedule to be released. Last summer it came out in July so why it was released after the men’s, beats me.
Their 2024-25 team was honestly one of the best teams I got to cover at Seton Hall. I did three of their games as play-by-play with two coming in the non-conference slate. Covering head coach Tony Bozzella’s squad was a blast and it gave me some of my best moments as a young announcer, journalist and photographer.
While they got some much deserved attention and praise from alumni, basketball fans and more, the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament wasn’t impressed. Granted, when you get blown out by UConn twice, lose to Creighton three times and lose to Marquette at home, it’s tough to make it. Now, I do give Coach Bozzella credit for scheduling USC and LSU to challenge his squad, but that probably hurt their Tournament chances since they lost both games.
Still, Seton Hall made it to the WBIT which I was fortunate enough to cover as a photographer for WSOU. But when you were a top three team in the BIG EAST, you wanted to be in March Madness. The non-conference schedule this season, if all goes right, should theoretically work for them.
Seton Hall will play at home vs Saint Peter’s, Fordham, Columbia, Auburn and Washington State. On the road, they will be tested nicely against some great programs. They'll play outstanding programs like Princeton and NC State on the road, and travel to California to play San Francisco and Pacific.
First, the home slate is an interesting one. Auburn, from what I saw, wasn’t exactly as good as Bruce Pearl’s men’s squad. Even with a less than stellar record in 24-25, having an SEC school like Auburn come up north to Walsh Gym is huge.
Columbia is another program that should prove to be challenging for the Pirates. The Lions have been successful in making the NCAA Tournament for a few years now and a win over a tournament team like them would be massive.
The road slate is also fascinating to look at because I’m intrigued by their California trip. Their games vs San Francisco and Pacific will take place on November 14 and 16, making it a quick turnaround for the Pirates. However, they will have enough preparation time given how far apart their season opener vs Saint Peter’s is from the USF game (first game is November 4 at home).
Their trip to Princeton at the historic Jadwin Gym is a big-time game, but the NC State road game is what Bozzella wanted. If Seton Hall can get a huge road victory against a team that made the Final Four a few years back, that will help their postseason aspirations.
I think early on in this season, the women’s squad has what it takes to earn quality results vs some of these teams.
Roster wise, they did lose some players to the transfer portal and for eligibility reasons, such as the case for Faith Masonius, but they’re still in great shape. There’s no doubt that the backcourt tandem of Savannah Catalon and Jada Eads is going to be dangerous against opposing teams. Add on older additions from the portal and the soon return of Shailyn Pinkney and this team can make some noise again in the conference.
With the potential revitalization of the men’s team and the women’s team looking to capitalize on last season, it should be a fun basketball season. Yet, fans will need to wait a few more months, especially myself. Seriously, I’ve been planning ahead to see what games I’m covering.