St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm to Host Wagner in Sunday Matinee
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - With four victories in as many games on the year, the Red Storm will look to record its best start to a season in the Joe Tartamella era, welcoming Wagner to Carnesecca Arena for a Sunday matinee. The game is scheduled to tip at 2:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
RED STORM QUICK HITS
After breaking the school's single-season rebounding record as a junior, Amber Thompson is having an equally auspicious start to her senior campaign. Through four games, the senior from Newark, N.J., has been an absolute monster on the boards, averaging 13.5 rebounds per contest through Friday's win against Binghamton. Through games played on Nov. 25, Thompson ranks sixth in the nation in rebounds per game. On Friday, Thompson (11) was outrebounding the entire Binghamton roster (10) at the intermission.
After serving as one of the premier sixth men in the conference last season and earning a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman squad, Jade Walker played her way into the Red Storm's starting lineup this season and has yet to disappoint. After setting career-highs in points (14), rebounds (8) and minutes played (29) at Marist on Monday, Walker broke two of those career-highs and recorded her first double-double on Friday, tallying 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Binghamton. Both Walker and Tartamella attribute her rise in production to a drastic improvement in her conditioning over the offseason.
Through four games this season, the back court combination of Danaejah Grant and Aliyyah Handford has proven to be one of the most dynamic in college basketball. The team's top-two scorers in three out of four games, Handford and Grant each poured in 19 on Friday against the Bearcats. Grant, who was recently recognized with a selection to the NCAA's Weekly Starting Five, leads the team with 21.8 points per outing, while Handford is not far behind at 17.8 points per game. The pair accounts for over 63 percent of the team's scoring this season.
SCOUTING WAGNER
After finishing 9-21 and winning just one game in non-conference play a season ago, Wagner is struggling again in 2014-15, dropping its first four contests by wide margins.
Two of those losses came against ranked opponents, as the Seahawks lost by 28, 81-53, to Rutgers after suffering a 97-24 loss at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins.
Wagner's average scoring differential on the season is -33.2.
The team's biggest struggle this season has been taking care of the basketball, averaging 25 turnovers per game so far. The Seahawks' 25 turnovers per contest are also paired with just 7.8 assists per outing.
The Seahawks feature two players that are averaging double figures on the season, Jasmine Nwajei and Jordyn Peck. Nwajei leads the team with 15.5 points per outing and also tops the team in assists with just under four per game. Peck has poured in 11.3 points per contest this season.
RED STORM VS. SEAHAWKS - THE SERIES
Sunday will be the 15th meeting all-time between the Red Storm and the Seahawks, with St. John's holding a considerable advantage in the series history.
The Red Storm has emerged victorious in 13 of the 14 contests between the two schools, including each the last 12.
The only time the Seahawks topped the Red Storm came all the way back on March 1, 1975.
The two teams last met on Nov. 22, 2011, when the Red Storm emerged with a 54-34 victory at Carnesecca Arena. Freshman forward Amber Thompson grabbed eight rebounds in the win.
