St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
4-0
Binghamton
1-4
Red Storm Blows by Binghamton, 67-51
11/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
QUEENS, N.Y. - Three St. John's players finished in double figures on Friday afternoon, helping the Red Storm pick up a convincing 67-51 win over Binghamton at Carnesecca Arena.
"We are happy to get the win today and be able to protect our home court," said head coach Joe Tartamella. "This is the start of a three-game stretch in five days, so we were happy to put a couple of runs together to open up the game in the second half. Our free throw shooting was a lot better today, which is a big plus for us, and getting 25 offensive rebounds was important. We're happy to get the win today and move on to Wagner on Sunday."
Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm with 19 points apiece on the afternoon, making it the third time in four games this season that the pair has led the team in scoring.
Jade Walker, who Tartamella predicted could be the conference's breakout player this season, registered her first career double-double, picking up 10 points and pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds.
Amber Thompson, who entered the game ranked sixth in the nation in rebounds per game, pulled down 13 boards and swatted away two shots in 29 minutes of play. 11 of Thompson's 13 rebounds came in the first half.
As a team, the Red Storm dominated the Bearcats on the boards, 51-26. 25 of those 51 rebounds came on the offensive glass for St. John's.
Aaliyah Lewis narrowly missed double figures on the afternoon, finishing with nine points, four assists and three steals.
Binghamton found it hard to miss in the first few minutes of the contest, converting on four of its first six shots attempts and claiming a 10-4 lead four minutes into the action. Jasmine Sina scored eight of the Bearcats' ten points during that stretch.
The baskets soon started to fall for St. John's, as two buckets from Handford fueled a 12-3 run that gave the Red Storm its first lead of the game, 16-15, with just over 11 minutes to go in the half. Lewis punctuated the hot streak with a steal near the top of the key that resulted in a fast break and-one.
Binghamton regained the lead, 17-16, on the next possession, but the Red Storm quickly rattled off seven in a row, jumping ahead by six, 23-17, near the seven minute mark of the half.
The Bearcats would narrow the lead to as little as three, 27-24, a few minutes later, but Handford rattled off four in a row to bump the lead back to seven inside the three-minute mark. Grant soon added four additional points, capping the St. John's run at 8-0 and giving her team a 35-24 lead heading into the half. The Red Storm held Binghamton off the scoreboard for the final 4:12 of the period.
After Binghamton trimmed the deficit to six in the opening minutes of the second half, Imani Littleton came into the game and quickly picked up four points, extending the St. John's lead back to double digits, 41-31, four minutes into the second stanza.
The two teams traded baskets over the next several minutes, with the Red Storm maintaining a lead in the area of 10 points.
Ahead by 11 with just under 10 minutes remaining, the Red Storm rattled off eight in a row, moving ahead by 19, 59-40, with 6:40 to go. Grant led the team with four of those points during the run.
St. John's maintained a comfortable lead the rest of the way, closing out the contest with a 67-51 victory.
The Red Storm will be back in action on Sunday, hosting Wagner at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
