St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
9-5, 0-1BE
Rutgers
11-2, 1-0BE
Women's Basketball Loses Conference Opener To Rutgers, 58-50
1/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2008
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The St. John's women's basketball team played No. 6 Rutgers tough in both teams' BIG EAST openers, but in the end the Scarlet Knights proved to be too strong and held on for the 58-50 victory.
Monique McLean led the way for St. John's with 13 points and Sky Lindsay added 11. Both tied for the team-high in 3-pointers, tallying three apiece. Kia Wright just fell short of double figures with nine points, but she did move into sixth place in the St. John's all-time scoring list with 1,305 points. For the Scarlet Knights, Epiphanny Prince led the team with 15 points, while Essence Carson chipped in 13.
The Red Storm (9-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) led for most of the first half but Rutgers turned things on in the final stanza, using a well-balanced attack to out-shoot the Red Storm 41.5 to 33.3 in the game. The Scarlet Knights (11-2, 1-0 BIG EAST) capitalized on their second chance points, scoring 17 to St. John's five.
What proved to be the difference maker in the final half was a 9-0 run by Rutgers from 10:54 to 9:08, giving it a 10-point lead, 45-35. St. John's offense couldn't put together a consistent scoring attack to counter, only able to get within five points of the lead, 55-50, with 57 seconds remaining.
St. John's came out firing in the first frame, going on a 14-5 run to open up. McLean got the scoring started with a 3-point basket at the 19:01 mark and Lindsay followed suit at the 18:03. Tiina Sten capped off the run hitting back-to-back jump shots. Rutgers slowly chipped into the Red Storm advantage and scored seven unanswered points to come within two points of the lead, 14-12. Prince got the run going for RU, connecting on a 3-pointer at 12:41.
Both teams traded baskets for a while with St. John's staying ahead and then Rutgers tied the score for the first time when Prince scored on a layup at 3:32. Wright got the Red Storm back on top hitting both shots from the charity stripe, but that didn't stay long as Prince tied the score again. With 57 seconds left in the stanza, Essence Carson drained a 3-pointer to send the Scarlet Knights into the locker room with the lead, 26-23.
The Red Storm came out of the break and regained the lead by scoring five unanswered points, but RU quickly put things back into its favor when Prince converted a layup at the 18:17 mark, 28-27. The Scarlet Knights remained in front despite St. John's coming within two points or less four times.
St. John's will return home to Carnesecca Arena to continue BIG EAST action when it welcomes the University of South Florida on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Both teams will be seeking their first league win of the season.
