St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Travels to Providence on Tuesday
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - Coming off the team's first loss of the 2014-15 season, the St. John's Red Storm will travel to Providence, R.I., for its BIG EAST road-opener against the Friars on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
RED STORM QUICK HITS
The Red Storm had an incredibly uncharacteristic performance in its loss to the Sycamores. Averaging just 13 turnovers per game heading into the contest, the Red Storm surrendered 25 against Indiana St., the team's highest total since the season-opener at Sacred Heart on Nov. 8, 2013.
Aliyyah Handford tied a season-high with 27 points against Indiana St., earning her first BIG EAST Player of the Week honor of the season on Dec.22. The award came after the Newark, N.J., native also tallied 22 points against Auburn on Saturday. The junior also pulled down nine boards and dished out four assists against the Sycamores. For her efforts, Handford also took home MBWA Player of the Week honors, it was announced on Dec. 23.
Following the Red Storm's contest against Indiana St., a pair of St. John's players leads the BIG EAST in scoring, as Aliyyah Handford and Danaejah Grant are both averaging 19.3 points per contest.
With 845 rebounds for her career 11 games into her senior campaign, Amber Thompson is just 23 boards shy of tying the St. John's career record of 868 currently held by Dianne Pugh. With 11 rebounds in the Red Storm's contest against Indiana St., Thompson moved into second place on the career list, passing Cozette Ballentine (840).
The Red Storm's 10-0 start marked the second-best beginning to a season in program history, falling just one game shy of school record for consecutive wins to start a season. In 2004-05, the Red Storm claimed victory in each of its first 11 contests.
SCOUTING PROVIDENCE
Picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST prior to the start of the season, the Providence Friars enter Tuesday's contest with a record of 4-8, having just come off a road loss to Boston College on Sunday.
The Friars feature two scorers that average in double figures. Tori Rule paces the squad with 15 points per game, highlighted by a 95 percent effort from the charity stripe.
Alexis Harris, who averages 14.2 points per game, is also the squad's leading rebounder, pulling down 7.4 boards per contest. The senior from Detroit shoots over 50 percent from the field.
Before their loss to the Eagles this past weekend, the Friars had won three of their last five.
ST. JOHN'S VS. PROVIDENCE - THE SERIES
With 60 meetings between the two schools in the books, the Friars are the second most frequently played opponent in St. John's history behind Seton Hall.
St. John's has dominated the series history as of late, claiming victory in the past eight meetings between the Red Storm and the Friars dating back to February of 2007.
The Red Storm is 17-10 all-time on the road against Providence.
