Red Storm Concludes Non-Conference Schedule At Delaware

Dec. 29, 2013

QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team (7-4) closes out its non-conference schedule on Monday at Delaware (8-2) in a 5 p.m. contest at the Blue Hens' Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del.

Last Time Out

Senior captain Briana Brown scored a career-high 20 points, classmate Keylantra Langley equaled her career high with 16 points and sophomore transfer Danaejah Grant announced herself to Red Storm fans with 16 points of her own in her first game at Carnesecca Arena as the St. John's women's basketball team won its BIG EAST Conference opener, 72-63, over visiting Seton Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The trio of Brown, Langley and Grant shot a combined 17-of-32 from the field, including making all seven of St. John's 3-pointers on just 12 attempts, the most 3-pointers the Red Storm has made in a game this season. Langley and Grant came off the bench to help St. John's outscore the Pirates' bench 36-10, while the Red Storm held the visitors to 34.2 percent shooting overall and 1-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc.
Junior forward Amber Thompson came close to a double-double with seven points, nine rebounds and one block, while senior guard Eugeneia McPherson followed her career-high seven-assist performance against Texas A&M with five more assists to lead the Red Storm in the category. Langley tied a season high with seven points to go with three assists, one block and one steal.

Scouting The Blue Hens

Delaware comes into Monday's match up against the Red Storm at 8-2, 0-0 CAA. The Blue Hens have won four of their last five games with the latest being a 77-64 win at Lehigh on Dec. 21.
Senior center Kelsey Buchanan, a key returner from last year's Sweet 16 squad, leads Delaware in both scoring and rebounding with 16.6 points per contest and 7.7 boards per game. Freshman forward Shanice Johnson also chips in 8.9 ppg and 7.2 rpg.
Freshman Erika Brown, a two-time CAA Rookie of the Week honoree, has been a standout performer for the Blue Hens so far this season. She came off the bench to score 23 points in the 77-64 win over Lehigh to claim the Christmas City Classic Championship. Brown is averaging 9.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season.
The Blue Hens are led by head coach Tina Martin who enters her 18th season at Delaware. Martin is coming off arguably one of the best seasons in her coaching her career as Delaware advanced to the program's first ever Sweet 16 and recorded a school-record 27 consecutive victories. Delaware has made 10 postseason tournament appearances under Martin, who has accumulated a 349-183 record at UD.

Road Trips

In three road contests this year, the Red Storm is 1-2. The lone victory was a thrilling 77-72 overtime win over Sacred Heart in the season opener. Despite a second half comeback, the first St. John's road loss this season came at the hands of Florida, 72-68 followed by a 69-55 fall at Auburn on Dec. 6.

McPherson's Triumphant Return

Following a 12-month hiatus, senior Eugeneia McPherson solidified that her return to the hardwood would be known. The fifth-year guard has averaged 10.3 points, 4.0 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals in her first four games. McPherson, suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2012-13 season, made her first start of the season in a 72-70 win over No. 24 Texas A&M at Madison Square Garden and scored 14 points and dished out a career-high seven assists.

St. John's & Delaware - The Series

The Red Storm is 1-3 all-time against Delaware. The last St. John's win over the Blue Hens was 48-42 victory on March 17, 2005 in Newark, Del.
Last season, an Elena Delle Donne jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining gave the Blue Hens the 60-59 overtime victory at Carnesecca Arena on Jan. 3. Aliyyah Handford led SJU with 16 points, including two that came from the free throw line to give the Red Storm a one point lead with 28 seconds remaining in overtime.

Against CAA opponents

St. John's is 31-14 all-time against CAA opponents. SJU has lost three-straight to members of the CAA including an 0-2 mark against the conference this season.

Red Storm 3-Point Defense Ranks Top-10 In The Country

The Red Storm defense has been phenomenal in the early 2013-14 season, holding opponents to just 65.3 points per game. St. John's foes are hitting just 23.4 percent of their attempts from behind the arc ranking the Red Storm 7th in the country in 3-point field goal defense.

Key For Three!

Senior guard Keylantra Langley leads not only the Red Storm from behind the arc but also owns the BIG EAST's top seat in the category with a 50.0 percentage. Langley has gone 12-for-24 in 3-pointers and has made three or more 3-pointers in two of St. John's last five games.

BIG EAST Leaders

In the BIG EAST, St. John's is ranked second in field goal percentage with a .432 mark after going 267-of-618 from the floor and is the leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.354). The Red Storm also boasts the best 3-point field goal percentage defense (.234) in the conference.
Individually, Aliyyah Handford leads the BIG EAST in scoring with 19.4 points per game, fourth in field goal percentage (.533), and is third in steals with 2.0 per game. Keylantra Langley leads the league in 3-point field goal percentage with a 50.0 mark and Briana Brown is third in free throw percentage (.853).

Handford 33rd In The Nation In Scoring

Aliyyah Handford is 33rd in the nation in scoring after averaging 19.4 points per game and notching team-highs in points in the first seven games. The sophomore guard also ranks 44th in the country in field goal percentage (53.3).

Up Next

St. John's returns to conference action on Saturday at Xavier when the Red Storm concludes a two-game road swing. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

St. John's University Athletics

Red Storm Concludes Non-Conference Schedule At Delaware

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Players Mentioned

Briana Brown

Danaejah Grant

Aliyyah Handford

Keylantra Langley

Eugeneia McPherson

Amber Thompson

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