St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
10-9, 1-5
Syracuse
16-3, 4-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| STJ | 24 | 28 | 52 |
| 24/24 Syracuse | 42 | 38 | 80 |
St. John's Falls To No. 24 Syracuse
1/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2008
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team had a tough time against BIG EAST rival No. 24 Syracuse and lost, 80-52, at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.
Tiina Sten led the way for St. John's with 11 points and Kia Wright had eight. On the defensive end, Centhya Hart led the team with 10 boards en route to her second career-double-rebounding effort.
Syracuse freshman guard Erica Morrow scored 10 of her 14 points in the decisive first half, classmate Marisa Gobuty had eight points in a critical early run, and No. 24 Syracuse celebrated its first game as a ranked team with an 80-52 win over St. John's on Saturday.
The Orange (16-3, 4-2 Big East), who entered the rankings this week for the first time since the program started 37 years ago, overcame a sloppy start and ran away from the Red Storm (10-9, 1-5 Big East), who lost for the fourth straight time -- all to ranked opponents.
Nicole Michael led Syracuse with 20 points, 14 in the second half, and Chandrea Jones had 16.
Syracuse had not played in a week, and the Red Storm took advantage quickly as Sten hit a layup and Wright made two free throws for a 4-0 lead in the first minute.
The Orange zone clamped down quickly. The Red Storm missed eight straight shots and committed six turnovers as Syracuse scored eight points off turnovers on a 14-0 run. Morrow had eight points and Jones four in the spurt.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Kelly McManmon rallied St. John's to within 16-12 midway through the period before the Orange took control with an 11-2 run.
After Jones missed three times in a row under the basket during one frustrating possession, Gobuty hit a 3 from right wing and a baseline jumper in a 39-second span.
Jones followed with a turnaround jumper in the lane and Gobuty drained a long 3 from right wing off a steal by Tracy Harbut to give Syracuse a 35-18 lead with 4:08 left in the half.Morrow's pullup jumper in the waning seconds gave the Orange a 42-24 halftime lead.
St. John's lost any chance for a rally when Syracuse scored the first three baskets of the second half to go up by 24 points. Vaida Sipaviciute hit a basline jumper and Morrow converted two layups to put the Orange up 48-24 at 18:52.
The Red Storm was held to 31.0 percent from the field in the game, including a 29.6 first-half performance, while Syracuse shot 46.8 overall.
The Red Storm will look to get back on the winning track on Tuesday when it travels to face Seton Hall at 8 p.m.
