INDIANAPOLIS – Seton Hall outscored Butler 44-31 in the second half on Friday night to come up with a 72-67 victory at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Shakena Richardson gave the Pirates their first lead of the game in the final seconds of the third quarter by connecting on a runner in the paint. SHU outscored BU 20-11 in the third and would give the ball to Tabatha Richardson-Smith in the fourth to ice the win from the charity stripe.

Richardson-Smith ended the game 13-for-14 from the line on her way to scoring a game-high 27 points. The only other Pirate in double figures was Tiffany Jones who came off the bench to produce 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Butler's top performer was senior Blaire Langlois who dropped a team-high 19 points in the loss. The team captain shot 7-for-17 overall, hitting five of her 12 3-point field goal attempts. A second Bulldog attacking from long range against SHU was Sydney Buck who added 13 points and seven rebounds.

The third quarter was the turning point in the game as SHU erased a 36-28 halftime deficit to take a slim lead into the final 10 minutes. Alexa Bailey picked up her fourth personal foul with 7:34 to go in the third which really impacted the game. Bailey was forced to the sideline which rattled the Bulldogs both offensively and defensively. Richardson began to attack the basket more often with Bailey sidelined and the Bulldogs were forced to get the ball up and down the court without arguably their top ball handler.

SHU guards were pests against the Butler backcourt for the entire 40 minutes. The Pirates forced 15 turnovers and were credited with nine steals. They scored 18 points off Butler miscues while only turning the ball over eight times.

Despite leading for three quarters on Friday, the Bulldogs were not able to regain the lead in the fourth quarter. Langlois was able to cut the lead down to just three points after hitting a 3-pointer with 1:18 to play, but SHU pushed the advantage back to a two possession game after a pair of free throws from Jones. Seton Hall's final 13 points came from the free throw line with Richardson-Smith responsible for eight of the 13.

Butler will return to action on Sunday with a 2 PM tip vs. St. John's. The 2015-16 regular season finale will serve as Senior Day for Blaire Langlois and Belle Obert.