Seton Hall University women’s basketball kicks off its season tonight with an exhibition game on home court vs Thomas Jefferson. The 2024-25 season included postseason action in the WBIT, so this year’s goal is to do better and earn a return trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Guard Savannah Catalon is excited for the season ahead. As a junior, she is a veteran, to which she is becoming accustomed. “We have a lot of new people (five freshmen), so meshing together hasn’t been easy, but I can say that we’re doing a good job at it,” she said. “We have a bunch of versatility throughout the team.”
The players have collective goals that they’re focused on achieving. Those include finishing top two in the Big East Conference and hopefully making it to the Big Dance.
“I feel I’m able to adapt,” said Catalon, a social and behavioral sciences major who is building her leadership skills. “Some people take criticism differently than others. So, learning from my teammates. I feel like I’ve done better at communicating, being more vocal on the court, off the court. As far as individual skills outside of leadership, focusing on basketball, I can say that I’ve worked on becoming a more efficient three-level scorer.”
With NCAA rules evolving, there is much discussion around student-athletes capitalizing on their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Catalon hasn’t taken as much advantage as she would like, but promises to be more active on social media, sharing the story of the Seton Hall Pirates. Throughout the coming school year, she will enjoy the whole student-athlete experience.
“Student-athletes already are put at an advantage as far as making connections,” said Catalon, of meeting alumni and other supporters of women’s basketball. “One of my main goals is just making connections with different people and going to different work settings to see what is something I’m very interested in, so I have an idea of what I want to do after basketball.”
The Pirates have a West Coast road trip on tap for November, heading to California for two games. Catalon is looking forward to the bonding.
“This team has a lot of different personalities, which makes it fun to come into practice every day,” she said. “I feel like the team vibe is there.”
