St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Basketball Travelers (Exhibition)
Red Storm Dominate Spartak Moscow in Exhibition Action
11/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2004
Queens, NY - The St. John's women's basketball team opened the 2004-05 season this evening with a 97-56 win over the Spartak Moscow traveling team. Former high school teammates and Long Island natives Kia Wright and Angela Clark, both of Copiague, led St. John's with 16 points each. Clark tallied a double-double, adding 15 rebounds in the win.
St. John's kept Spartak without a basket, forcing them to score their first ten points from the free throw line. Wright helped the Red Storm pull out to a convincing lead, tallying nine points in less than 10 minutes, including a shot clock-beating long distance three.
Chelsey Thompson (Louisville, KY) hit a jumper with 11:54 remaining in the first to give St. John's a 15-point lead, their largest lead of the half. Spartak bounced back to pull within eight on a lay-up by Nelli Nevsaroava, but St. John's kept up their evenly distributed scoring attack and regained a 15-point lead at the half.
The Red Storm pulled ahead by 25 when freshman guard Andrea Peterson (Norwood, PA) scored five points in five minutes midway through the second period. Svetlana Khasiarova converted a three-point play for Spartak on their next possession, but Mercedes Dukes (Bronx, NY) and Clark combined for three St. John's points to keep the large lead.
Marina Bezgina scored for Spartak with just over four minutes remaining, for what would be their last basket of the night. Freshman Tiina Sten (Turku, Finland) hit a jumper on the next play, kicking off a 14-2 run by St. John's, that built their commanding lead to a final of 97-56.
Sten finished with 12 points in her collegiate debut, while Danielle Chambers (Brooklyn, NY) came off the bench for nine points and nine rebounds.
The 2004-05 regular season kicks off on Saturday, November 20 at the St. Bonaventure Tournament. The Red Storm will face Canisius in the first round, tipping off at 4 pm.
For the most up-to-date information on all St. John's athletics, please visit our website at www.redstormsports.com,
