St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
2-0
NC State
2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| STJ | 28 | 32 | 60 |
| #24 NC State | 20 | 35 | 55 |
St. John's Defeats No. 24-Ranked NC State
11/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2007
BURLINGTON, Vt. - The St. John's women's basketball team fought back from an early deficit and held off a late rally en route to the 60-55 upset over No. 24-ranked NC State in day one of the University of Vermont TD Banknorth Classic at Patrick Gymnasium.
The Red Storm improved its slate to 2-0 on the year and advances to play host Vermont Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the championship game.
"I thought it was a great win for our team and for the program," coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "With us being so young, coming off a difficult year last year where we won only eight games, coming in this early in the season and playing without our best player and to go on and beat an ACC program is an outstanding win for the program.
"The kids played great. I was excited with our effort and intensity. I thought we came out fearless and we weren't intimidated. We got tight at times but we did what we needed to do down the stretch and we were able to pull it out. They are a great program with a hall-of-fame coach and for us to beat them here is just phenomenal."
The victory over a top-25 team was the Red Storm's first since a 76-69 win on the road over BIG EAST rival Pittsburgh on Jan. 13, 2007.
After getting off to a slow start, St. John's offense warmed up and was key in the second half, improving from a 29.6 field-goal percentage in the first frame to a 45.0 average in the final set.
With the game close down the stretch, the Red Storm relied heavily on its free-throw shooting, hitting 10 shots from the charity stripe in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game.
For the second-straight time this season, Monique McLean led the way for the Red Storm with 17 points and 11 boards, registering her first double-double of the season while tying her career high in rebounds. The junior was just as solid from the free-throw line, nailing 13-of-14 attempts at the charity stripe to tie for fourth-most in a single-game while setting a new personal best as well.
Two other Red Storm players netted double figures in scoring. Junior Kelly McManmon finished second with 13 points, including shooting 3-for-5 behind the three-point arc. Freshman Sky Lindsay posted her first-career, double-digit scoring game with 10 in the contest.
Down by eight at the half, NC State rallied and tied the score at 40 thanks to a Khadijah Whittington basket at the 10:07 mark. After both teams traded baskets and the score was knotted again, a layup by Lindsay put the Red Storm in front at the 6:28 mark.
From that point on, St. John's went on a 10-3 run to take its largest lead of the game, 54-45, with 1:13 remaining.
After both teams got off to a slow start, offensively, in the first half, NC State jumped out to a seven-point lead at the 10:45 mark, 12-5. St. John's slowly chipped into the lead and eventually knotted the score thanks to a free throw by Lindsay at the 8:03 mark.
The stalemate didn't last long as Nikitta Gartrell sank a jumper with 7:07 on the clock, 17-15. Recee Mitchell tied the score for the Red Storm with a layup and then two key free throws by Coco Hart put the Red Storm ahead by two, 19-17.
St. John's continued the momentum, going on a 9-3 run for the 28-20 lead going into the lockerroom. The Red Storm's three-point shooting was key, hitting 3-of-7 (42.9 percent) while NC State couldn't hit one.
