St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
13-5, 2-3
Seton Hall *
7-11, 0-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 28 | 30 | 58 |
| Seton Hall | 21 | 27 | 48 |
No. 22 Red Storm Outlasts Seton Hall, 58-48
1/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2011
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - An early lead for the Red Storm was too much for the Pirates to overcome as No. 22 St. John's outscored Seton Hall, 58-48 on Saturday afternoon at Walsh Gym.
The Red Storm had two players score in the double figures led by sophomore Shenneika Smith with 16 points and classmate Eugeneia McPherson with 14 points.
After a slow start by both teams, St. John's (13-5, 2-3 BIG EAST) got the ball rolling with a 14-5, seven-minute run that gave the Red Storm a 20-10 lead, 12 minutes into the game. By the end of the first half, the Pirates threatened, coming within one point with just over four minutes left to play.
A 7-2 run by the Red Storm in the final two minutes of the first half kept St. John's ahead of their metropolitan rival and kept the momentum in its favor. Smith made a driving layup up the middle in the final seconds of the period to give the Red Storm a 28-21 lead at the break.
In the second half, Seton Hall (7-11, 0-5 BIG EAST) came back but couldn't get within eight as the Red Storm went up by as much as 14 to hold on to its first half cushion.
Senior Centhya "Coco" Hart sparked the first period run with a driving layup that put St. John's up 6-5 with 14:28 on the clock. McPherson came at the Pirates with another layup, putting the Red Storm up 8-5.
After a layup by Seton Hall's Kandice Green, Da'Shena Stevens scored two quick baskets with a jumper through traffic with three seconds left on the shot clock and a fastbreak layup off a block by Nadirah McKenith, rebounded by sophomore Jennifer Blanding.
On the next Seton Hall possession, McKenith grabbed the rebound off a missed jumper by Terry Green. Seeing on open court, McKenith sent a long pass to McPherson who needed just two strides before she put it up to the board for a basket.
Morris answered with an open 3 from the left side baseline but Amanda Burakoski came right back with a long shot of her own from the top of the arc.
McPherson added one more point to the run as she made the second of two free throws after being fouled by the Pirates Terry Green as St. John's led 20-10.
The Pirates came back with a 9-0 run that brought Seton Hall within one, 20-19 with just over four minutes to go in the half.
McPherson stopped the Seton Hall run with an open jumper at 3:41 that banked in for the Red Storm's first points since 8:35. St. John's hung on to a 22-19 lead. St. John's scored six to Seton Hall's two to go into halftime with the lead, 28-21.
Coming in off the break, senior Sky Lindsay put away two baskets for St. John's as the Red Storm held on to its lead.
However, Seton Hall hit three 3-pointers to come within six, 38-32 by the second media time out.
Back on the court after the timeout, Burakoski extended the Red Storm's advantage to nine, 41-32, with her second trifecta of the game.
It was another McKenith-McPherson combination for a fastbreak layup from baseline to baseline that gave St. John's its largest lead of the game, 51-37 with just under six minutes to play.
Seton Hall wouldn't get much closer as St. John's traveled home with its second victory over the Pirates this season.
Stevens led the team in rebounding with nine boards. Hart tallied four steals in the win, tying her career-best for the fourth time. McKenith had five assists.
For the Pirates, Kandice Green had a near double-double with 15 points, nine boards. Jasmine Crew helped with 12 points.
St. John's held Seton Hall to just 21 points at the half, one less point than the previous game between the two teams. It was the first time St. John's led at halftime since its Dec. 19 victory over UC-Santa Barbara in the STJ-Chartwells Holiday Festival.
Just the same way as the first game this year between the two teams, rebounds were equal on both sides of the statsheet.
The win put a stop to St. John's recent slump in which the Red Storm lost to then-No. 18 Maryland, Louisville, then-No. 16 DePaul and then-No. 2 Connecticut.
Up next, St. John's will host Cincinnati in a noon tip off on Jan. 18 at Carnesecca Arena. The contest between the Red Storm and Bearcats is designated as Field Trip Day, where all hundreds of elementary school students from around the Queens area will be in attendance to cheer on the Red Storm.
