St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
19-5, 12-1BE
Villanova
19-6, 9-5BE
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villanova | 19 | 37 | 56 |
| St. John's | 27 | 42 | 69 |
No. 24 Red Storm Takes Down Villanova, 69-56
2/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SJU-TV Video Postgame Press Conference | Postgame Highlights
Feb. 15, 2014
QUEENS, N.Y. - Sophomore guard Aliyyah Handford scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half while junior Amber Thompson pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to go with nine points and two blocks as the No. 24 St. John's women's basketball team won its 11th consecutive BIG EAST contest with a 69-56 win over Villanova in front of 1,938 fans for the Red Storm's annual Play4Kay game at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Red Storm moves to 19-5 overall and 12-1 in the conference with the win while the Wildcats fall to 19-6 and 9-5 in the BIG EAST.
The Red Storm outrebounded Villanova 54-31 to post a season-high plus-23 rebounding margin while holding a 22-8 edge in second chance points. St. John's 54 total rebounds and 20 on the offensive glass were both the team's second-highest totals this season. The Wildcats, who came into the game averaging 8.3 3-pointers per game, were held under their season average by going 5-for-25 from behind the 3-point arc.
Handford shot 10-of-18 from the field and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line in surpassing her previous career-best scoring effort in a conference game of 21 points set in the Red Storm's 96-86 win at DePaul on Jan. 11. Classmate Danaejah Grant added 14 points and nine rebounds while senior Eugeneia McPherson tallied 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
"Similarly to the last time we played them, I thought we found our way after about five or six minutes and really dug in and started to defend," said St. John's head coach Joe Tartamella. "Our level of play in the second half propelled us to this win. We're very happy to be able to come away from today holding our home court in a big and very important game for us in the conference."
In an otherwise defensive opening 20 minutes, the Red Storm closed the first half on an 9-2 run to take a 27-19 lead into halftime. Handford converted a three-point play in the opening minute of the second half to stretch St. John's lead to double digits for the first time of the afternoon, and, following a 3-pointer by senior Briana Brown, the sophomore completed another three-point play with 10:18 remaining to put the Red Storm up a game-high 17 points at 51-34.
Villanova cut the St. John's lead to eight points at 56-48 with 3:56 remaining but Brown hit her second 3-pointer of the game the next trip down the court and from there the Red Storm's lead never dipped under 10 points.
McPherson matched Brown's pair of 3-pointers and junior Mallory Jones added a 3-point make as St. John's finished an efficient 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from deep, its second-best conversion rate of the season.
The win over the Wildcats was also the Red Storm's annual Play4Kay game. The team has raised over $3,000 for the Crush Cancer Fund for Clare Droesch so far this season.
Up next, St. John's hits the road for an 8 p.m. conference clash at Georgetown on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
