Suffice to say the Pirates (12-8, 4-5 Big East) are not having an outstanding year by any means, but they are proving they at least can put up a fight against conference foes.,”

After being picked to finish dead last in the preseason Big East coaches' poll, the Seton Hall Pirates have proven they're not exactly the doormats everyone expected them to be.

Suffice to say the Pirates (13-8, 5-5 Big East) are not having an outstanding year by any means, but they are proving they at least can put up a fight against conference foes. They are tied for eighth in the Big East standings.

Seton Hall on Jan. 27 knocked off then-No. 23 Pittsburgh 51-50 at home in the games's closing seconds. Senior Monique Blake sank one of two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to provide the margin of victory. The Pirates shot just 33.8 percent (22-of-65) from the field but outrebounded the Panthers 47-39.

A season ago, the Pirates were 6-21 and 3-13 in Big East play. Blake, the team's leading scorer in 2005-'06, is leading the charge once again for Seton Hall, though this year she's getting a little more help.

Blake remains the team's leading scorer (11.1 points per game), but also averaging more than 10 points per contest are senior Heta Korpivaara (11.0) and junior Ela Mukosiej (10.6).

The team has made the largest stride in the rebounding department. Last season, the Pirates' rebounding margin was minus-2.5.

This year, though, the Pirates are doing a better job of cleaning the glass. Blake and sophomore Noteisha Womack lead the team in rebounding (8.0 and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively), and the team's rebounding margin stands at plus-3.2.

Seton Hall will take a four-game winning streak into tonight's match-up with Georgetown (12-11, 2-8).

Representin'

Six Big East teams are ranked in the Ratings Percentage Index top 30, according to the most recent figures released by CollegeRPI.com through games played on Feb. 1. The Big East has more representatives in the RPI top 30 than any other conference in the nation.

Connecticut (No. 13), Marquette (No. 15), Rutgers (No. 19), Pittsburgh (No. 21), South Florida (No. 28) and Louisville (No. 29) made the list.

The RPI measures teams by their strength of schedule. As such, a team that plays and beats opponents with good records will have a higher RPI than will a team that plays and beats opponents with mediocre or poor records.

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