St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
10-6, 2-1BE
[14/12] Louisville *
13-3, 2-1BE
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville | 27 | 37 | 64 |
| St. John's | 28 | 44 | 72 |
Red Storm Upsets No. 14/12 Cardinals, 72-64
1/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2012
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QUEENS, N.Y.- In an closely-matched game that saw the lead change nine times and the score tied eight, the St. John's women's basketball team used a late-game scoring run to pull away from No. 14/12 Louisville for a 72-64 upset in BIG EAST action on Sunday afternoon on ESPNU.
"That was an outstanding basketball game and it was probably a fun one to watch," remarked head coach Kim Barnes Arico. "It was a great win for our program. We've kind of had a tough year, but it's largely due in part to our injuries. It's exciting to have everyone back and great to be on TV today to show the rest of the world what St. John's is about."
St. John's (10-6, 2-1 BIG EAST) had three players scored in double figures, led by junior Eugeneia McPherson with 16 and classmate Nadirah McKenithwith 15.
Along with 11 points, junior guard Shenneika Smithonce again proved her strong defensive skills as she held Louisville's leading scorer, Shoni Schimmel to a season-low eight points on 4-of-18 shooting, 0-for-7 from 3-point range, where she had been averaging 2.5 per game. It was just the second time this season Schimmel was held scoreless at long range.
Senior Da'Shena Stevens, who played 34 minutes and still struggling to get into her top form, had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points, her second-consecutive contest just shy of a double-double.
The victory marked the ninth-straight win at Carnesecca Arena for St. John's (9-1 at home). It was the first win over a ranked opponent for the Red Storm, which advanced to 1-2 against Top 25 teams this year.
Sunday's game was a homecoming for Louisville freshman Bria Smith, who starred down the road at perennial power Christ the King H.S. She scored the Cardinals' first seven points and finished with 17 before fouling out with 4:39 left.
Becky Burke scored 19 points to lead Louisville (13-3, 2-1), which had won its last six games before today.
Trailing 37-34 after a Burke's 3-pointer, St. John's scored 14 of the next 20 points to take a 48-43 lead with 9:10 left. Stevens had five points during the run, including the final two free throws.
After St. John's took the 48-43 lead, Louisville crept back within three, the closest the Cardinals would get for the rest of the game, as the Red Storm scored seven-straight points.
With 4:39 left to play, St. John's took its first double-digit lead of the game, 59-49, after two made free throws by sophomore Mary Nwachukwu. Nwachukwu went to the line after drawing Smith into her fifth foul of the game. Nwachukwu finished with eight points.
The Cardinals continued to threaten as Schimmel turned around for a jumper under the rim, cutting St. John's lead to six, 61-55. The Red Storm answered with another six-point run, capped by two McKenith foul shots to give St. John's its largest lead of the game, 67-55, with less than a minute to play.
Louisville threatened all the way down to the final buzzer as the Cardinals took seven shots in the final 50 seconds, including two 3's.
St. John's put the game away as the red Storm made 5-of-6 foul shots to maintain the advantage.
In the first half, the lead changed five times as both teams went back and forth with shots. Louisville started off the game with a 5-0 lead before St. John's went on an 8-0 run to take an 8-5 lead and demand a game. After that, neither team had more than a five-point lead until St. John's went up 57-49 on Smith's 3-pointer with 5:15 left to play.
St. John's had a 28-27 lead at halftime, but Louisville opened the second half with a Burke 3-pointer. Smith answered quickly with a jumper to tie the game at 30-30.
The last time St. John's defeated a ranked opponent at Carnesecca was against No. 16/17 Georgetown on Feb. 13, 2011. The Red Storm defeated the Hoyas, 75-71, in overtime.
Both St. John's and Louisville were evenly matched statistically, with both teams scoring 32 points in the paint and 12 points on second chances. Both teams had seven steals and eight blocks each. St. John's scored 13 points off 15 Louisville turnovers, while the Cardinals scored 12 points off 12 Red Storm miscues.
St. John's shot 44.1 percent from the field, while Louisville shot 40.3 percent.
Free throws were the difference maker as St. John's went to the line 27 times. Louisville appeared at the foul line 12 times.
The Red Storm is 3-0 in its last few games with all five starters back in the line up.
St. John's will look to extend its win-streak to four as the Red Storm takes to the road for the first time since Dec. 22. St. John's will play Syracuse on Jan. 11 in a 7 p.m. tip off.
