St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
6-0 (1-0BE)
Xavier
5-2 (0-1BE)
Red Storm Remains Undefeated with 65-42 Win over Xavier
12/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
QUEENS, N.Y. - The BIG EAST's leading scorer during non-conference play with over 20 points per game, Danaejah Grant had another spectacular performance in the Red Storm's conference-opener, scoring 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and leading St. John's to a 65-42 victory in Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night.
"Tonight was a great opportunity at home to get our first BIG EAST win of the year," said St. John's head coach Joe Tartamella. "We knew this was an important game against a much improved Xavier team... I'm very happy with the way we came out in the second half and were able to really dig in defensively, giving us the stops we needed to get out on the offensive end."
Sitting at 6-0 following the first game of league play, the Red Storm is the only team in the league that lacks a loss on the season. The Musketeers fell to 5-2 with the defeat.
Amber Thompson put forth another dominant effort on the glass, collecting 14 rebounds and tying a career-high with six blocks. In addition, the Newark, N.J., native also scored six points, dished out a career-high four assists and recorded a pair of steals.
Two other members of the Red Storm reached double figures against the Musketeers, as Aliyyah Handford tallied 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Jade Walker finished with 10 points and seven boards.
Aaliyah Lewis continued her steady play at the point guard position, dishing out five assists and surrendering only a pair of turnovers. The Staten Island, N.Y., native also poured in eight points and pulled down five rebounds.
The Red Storm is now 3-0 in BIG EAST openers under Tartamella.
Xavier sported the hot hand in the early going, jumping out to an 8-4 lead just four minutes into the action, making three of its first six attempts from the floor. The Red Storm soon responded with a streak of its own, pouring in six unanswered to retake the lead, 10-8, on a Grant layup less than two minutes later.
The Red Storm continued to pour it on in the ensuing six minutes, using a 13-4 overall run to take a 21-12 lead near the eight-minute mark of the half. All five members of the Red Storm's starting lineup recorded buckets during that stretch.
Trailing by nine, the Musketeers began to claw their way back. By the close of the half, Xavier had narrowed the Red Storm lead to just three, outscoring St. John's 13-7 over the closing minutes and entering the break with a 28-25 deficit.
Thompson started off the second half for the Red Storm, converting on a second-chance opportunity to put the Red Storm up five, 30-25. Grant and Lewis soon followed suit with buckets of their own and the Red Storm defense continued to hold tough, keeping Xavier off the score sheet for nearly five minutes and jumping out to a 34-25 lead.
The Red Storm continued to pour it on in the ensuing minutes, highlighted by a Grant and-one to put her team up 41-29 with 11:57 left on the clock.
By the time the Musketeers stopped the bleeding, the Red Storm had unleashed an 18-4 run to start the second half, claiming a 46-29 lead just inside the midway mark of the period.
Xavier made one final push a few minutes later, narrowing the gap to 14, but St. John's once again pushed the pedal to the metal, widening the advantage to 23 by the end of the contest and kicking off BIG EAST play with a 65-42 victory.
Next up for the Red Storm is a critical, resume-building road match on the road at South Florida. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
