St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
2-0
Florida
2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 26 | 40 | 66 |
| St. John's | 40 | 32 | 72 |
St. John's Outlasts Florida, 72-66
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - The dynamic scoring duo of Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant put forth another pair of spectacular performances on Thursday night in Carnesecca Arena, netting 27 and 26 points, respectively, to lead the Red Storm to a 72-66 victory over Florida.
"I'm very proud of our effort, especially from a resiliency standpoint and how we were able to withstand runs, especially in the second half," said head coach Joe Tartamella. "We also made some big time shots and I thought we executed our game plan extremely well, particularly in the first half. We were able to take them out of their rhythm a little bit and get a great player like [Florida forward] Ronni Williams in some foul trouble. Florida is going to be a great team in the SEC this season so this was a great early test for us and great for our league. I'm happy with everything we did today."
In addition to her 27 points, Handford pulled down seven boards and grabbed three steals to pace the Red Storm (2-0), while Grant added six rebounds and three assists. Most notably on display Thursday night from Handford was her newfound ability to hit from the outside. Having registered just one career three-pointer heading into the game, the Newark, N.J., native buried two of her three tries from beyond the arc against the Gators.
Sophomore Jade Walker also finished in double figure for the Red Storm, pouring in 11 points on just 5-7 shooting. The Maplewood, N.J., native's stat line becomes even more impressive when taking into account the fact that she played only 18 minutes due to foul trouble.
Senior forward Amber Thompson registered her second double-digit rebounding performance in as many tries this season, corralling 10 boards and swatting a game-high four blocks.
Aaliyah Lewis turned in another impressive effort at the point guard position, recording eight assists, six points and two steals.
Florida (2-1) featured three players in double figures, highlighted by Carlie Needles' 16 point, eight rebound outing.
St. John's sported a hot hand in the early going, converting on four of its first seven field-goal attempts to grab an 11-4 lead at the game's first media timeout. Walker scored five during that stretch and Handford added four.
Handford continued to score over the next few plays, hitting two mid-range jumpers, a layup and a shot from beyond the arc to lead an 11-2 St. John's run over the course of just two minutes. Anchored by Handford's outburst, the Red Storm grabbed a 24-12 lead near the eight-minute mark of the half.
In response, the Gators uncorked a tear, outscoring the Red Storm 9-2 and moving within five, 26-21, just inside the six-minute mark. Grant, however, answered back with eight unanswered of her own, giving the Red Storm a 34-21 advantage less than 90 seconds later.
The two teams proceeded to trade buckets over the closing minutes of the first half, and the Red Storm entered the locker room with a 40-26 lead.
Handford led all scorers with 17 in the opening stanza, while Grant finished right behind her with 16. Thompson led all players on the glass with six boards.
Coming out of the break, the Gators shored up holes in their defense and looked crisper on offense, narrowing the St. John's lead to seven, 43-36, at the first media timeout of the second half.
Handford nailed a jumper out of the stoppage to move the Red Storm lead back to nine, but Florida rattled off five in a row to trim the gap to four, the Red Storm's smallest lead since the 12-minute mark of the first half.
With its lead dwindling, the Red Storm dug deep and regained its scoring touch, bumping the lead to nine with just over nine minutes to go on buckets from Handford and Grant.
Down by nine, Florida fired off 11-consecutive points over the course of the next three minutes, taking its first lead of the game, 55-54, with just six minutes to go.
Grant put the Red Storm back on top with a jumper less than a minute later, kicking off a stretch of back-and-forth basketball that saw a couple of lead changes.
With the Red Storm up one and just over three minutes left on the clock, Handford knocked down her second triple of the contest from the right wing, extending the St. John's lead to four, 62-58. A few possessions later, Lewis swiped the ball away on defense and orchestrated a brilliant two-on-one fast break that ended with a Handford layup, bumping the Red Storm lead to six.
Florida would trim the lead to as little as three in the closing minutes, but the Red Storm always had an answer, closing out the game and earning a hard-fought 72-66 victory.
The Red Storm will be back in action on Monday, Nov. 24, traveling to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a battle with local powerhouse Marist. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
