St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
10-7, 1-3
West Virginia
14-3, 4-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 35 | 33 | 68 |
| STJ | 32 | 12 | 44 |
St. John's Falls To No. 14 West Virginia
1/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2008
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QUEENS, N.Y. - After a close first half that put the St. John's women's basketball team within three of West Virginia, 35-32, at the half, the Red Storm could not equal its performance in the second frame and lost, 68-44, on Saturday afternoon at Carnesecca Arena.
"It was a combination of things today," coach Kim Barnes Arico said. "First of all, West Virginia is a very physical team and they wore us down a little bit. But one of our biggest weaknesses is when things get tight, we think we can make it up in one shot and it will be a 20-point shot. The farther the game got, the more we would go down the floor and get off one pass and a shot. Our shooters start going for the first shot available instead of the best shot available. We never really worked the ball and we never really made their defense have to work. We got into a funk and we weren't scoring, which takes the wind out of our sails a little bit. West Virginia is a very good team and we played with them in the first half, but we just couldn't score in the second."
Sophomore Joy McCorvey was the lone St. John's player to score in double figures with 10 points. The contest marked the third double-figure scoring contest of the season for the Brewton, Ala., native. Monique McLean just missed out on her seventh-straight double-figure scoring game with nine points. On the defensive side, Kia Wright led the team with eight rebounds, and McLean added six.
The Red Storm had a tough time getting its offense going in the first half and WVU (14-3, 4-1) led by 11 three times. At the 5:42 mark, St. John's slowly worked its way back into the game, chipping into the lead. Tiina Sten scored on back-to-back layups to put the Red Storm within four. A back and forth effort ensued until Wright stole the ball and was fouled. At the line, the senior converted both attempts to put the team within three at the break.
St. John's (10-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) opened up the second half with a quick basket from McCorvey on a fast-break, putting the team within one point of the Mountaineers, 35-34. The Red Storm's offense slowly lost its momentum while West Virginia's continued to surge and out-scored St. John's 33-12 in the final frame.
ALUMNAE DAY
Alumnae Day Photo Gallery |
Prior to the start of the game, St. John's welcomed back former players on its annual Alumnae day. The festivities stated at 11 a.m. with the alumnae game at Taffner Field House. Former Red Storm players that were in attendance ranged from the 1974-75 season to the 2005-06 season. Following the game, the players gathered at a buffet lunch in the President's Room and then headed over to watch the 2007-08 edition of the Red Storm.
"I really liked the new Taffner Field House," said Tara Nelsen, who played for St. John's from 1980-81 to 1983-84. "I got to see my friend Barbara (Rapp), who I haven't seen in over 20 years. I had a great time here today and this just brings back so many great memories for me."
"I thought the event was very nice and I'll be back next year," said Barbara Rapp, who played for St. John's from 1983-84 to 1984-85. "It was great to see Tara. We were laughing about all the memories - all the suicides we had to run and all the stories we keep talking about. It was a lot of fun."
The Red Storm will continue its homestand on Tuesday when it welcomes No. 22/24 Pittsburgh to Carnesecca Arena at 7 p.m.
