St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
8-5, 1-1BE
Xavier
6-8, 1-1BE
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 28 | 37 | 65 |
| Xavier | 36 | 34 | 70 |
Red Storm Drops Road Contest At Xavier, 70-65
1/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2014
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The St. John's women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 70-65 loss at Xavier in Sunday's BIG EAST contest and falls to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST.
The Red Storm's bench outscored Xavier's 20-10 and St. John's shot 49.1 percent from the field and scored 42 points in the paint but was unable to overcome the Musketeers' 36-28 halftime lead despite pulling to within one point with 5:38 remaining in the contest. Xavier earned its first-ever BIG EAST win and is now 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Sophomore guard Aliyyah Handford led the team with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting and junior forward Amber Thompson finished with 16 points to go with a game-high nine rebounds and three steals. Newcomers Danaejah Grant and Jade Walker were key to St. John's second-half comeback and each finished the game with nine points, Walker notching a career high for the second consecutive outing.
St. John's opened the second half with a 12-4 run and cut the Xavier lead to two at 42-40 with just under 14 minutes remaining in regulation. During the run, Walker kicked off an impressive series when she capitalized on an and-one situation before stealing the ball from the Musketeers and driving to the hoop to give her five consecutive points.
Xavier responded with a 7-2 run to stretch its lead back to 52-44 with 9:24 to go, but a Thompson layup followed by three-straight Grant scores and a pair of Handford free throws brought the Red Storm within one point at 57-56 with 5:38 on the clock. It was the closest St. John's would come in the hard-fought battle as Xavier hit its final 3-pointer of the day on the ensuing possession to go back up by four.
The Musketeers went 10-for-22 from behind the arc, registering the most 3-pointers of any St. John's opponent this season, and doing so against a Red Storm defense that entered the game boasting the third best 3-point defense in the nation.
Senior captain Briana Brown hit a jumper at 3:13 to get the Red Storm back within three at 64-61 but Xavier continued to find ways to score and was able to hang on for the win. Brown finished with five points, two assists and three steals, while senior Eugeneia McPherson ended the day with five points, three rebounds and a team-best five assists.
Xavier's Shatyra Hawkes led all scorers in the game with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting from the free throw line.
The Red Storm returns to Carnesecca Arena and BIG EAST action on Wednesday, Jan. 8, for a 7 p.m. tip against conference newcomer Creighton. The third all-time meeting between the two squads will be carried live on ESPN3.
