St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
11-1 (2-0)
Providence
4-9 (1-1)
St. John's Storms Back, Downs Providence 68-52
12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Trailing by 11 in the second half of its BIG EAST road opener on Tuesday afternoon, the St. John's Red Storm unleashed a 21-4 run down the stretch to defeat Providence, 68-52, and remain unbeaten in conference play.
Down 42-31 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the contest, the Red Storm (11-1, 2-0 BIG EAST) outscored the Friars 37-10 over the closing 13:18 of the game.
"This was a great conference win for us on the road and I'm especially proud of our effort in the second half," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We executed down the stretch in the half court and at the free throw line, which allowed us to come away with a hard fought win."
The Red Storm's 45 second-half points were the most scored by the team in a single half this season. St. John's shot 51.4 percent from the floor during that second-half outburst.
The conference's leading scorer, Danaejah Grant registered her best all-around performance of the season, scoring a game-high 24 points and setting a new career-high with 11 boards. The Piscataway, N.J., native scored 18 of her 24 in the second half.
Aliyyah Handford, who played just 13 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, poured 15 of her 21 in the latter stanza, converting on 10 of her 19 field goal attempts and collecting six rebounds in the process.
Jade Walker narrowly missed her second-straight double-double, finishing the game with 14 points and nine rebounds. 14 points ties a career-best for the Maplewood, N.J., product.
Amber Thompson, who entered the contest ranked 12th nationally in rebounding with 11.9 per game, tallied six points, 10 boards and a pair of blocks against Friars.
The Friars (4-9, 1-1 BIG EAST) got off to a hot start, outscoring the Red Storm 6-2 in the opening minutes of the contest. After trailing by as many as five, 9-4, the Red Storm rattled off six unanswered, taking its first lead of the game, 10-9, with just over seven minutes gone.
Following the Red Storm run, it was the Friars' turn to put some points on the board, as Sarah Beal scored six points on a 10-2 run for Providence, giving the Friars a 19-12 advantage near the midway mark of the opening period.
The Red Storm would fall behind by as many as eight, 22-14, following a pair of Tori Rule free throws with six and a half minutes to go in the half, but the St. John's defense soon shored up and anchored a comeback effort. The Friars would only register four points in the period's closing minutes, as the Red Storm narrowed the gap to just three, 26-23, at the intermission.
The two teams traded buckets to start the beginning of the second half, as a Walker layup made it 34-31 in favor of the Friars with just about four minutes gone in the latter stanza. From there, Providence scored eight unanswered, capped by a three-pointer from Rule with 14 minutes to go in the half to take a 42-31 lead.
Following a timeout from Tartamella, the Red Storm quickly began chipping away at the lead, firing off six unanswered over the course of just 90 seconds and trimming the deficit to five, 42-37. Alexis Harris converted on a jumper to stop the bleeding and put the Friars back ahead by seven, but the Red Storm was not done yet. St. John's rattled off seven more unanswered to tie the game at 44, capped by a Grant and-one to knot the score and take the lead away from Providence for the first time since the 11:58 mark of the first half.
The two teams would trade points once again, as a Handford layup tied the contest at 46 with just under seven minutes to go in the game. Following Handford's bucket, the Red Storm unleashed another run, scoring six unanswered to take a 52-46 lead and force a Friar timeout.
From there, the Friars had no answer for the Red Storm attack, as St. John's continued to build its lead over the closing minutes, eventually closing out the game with a 16-point advantage.
The Red Storm returns to action on Friday evening, hosting no. 23/RV Seton Hall at 6 p.m. in Carnesecca Arena.
