St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
13-3 (4-1BE)
Creighton
8-9 (1-5BE)
Red Storm Crushes Creighton, 61-38
1/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - The Red Storm excelled on both ends of the floor Sunday afternoon, allowing a season-low 38 points and shooting a blistering 74 percent in the second half to down Creighton, 61-38, in Omaha.
"I was proud of our effort today against an extremely tough opponent, especially at home," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "I have the utmost respect for this program and what Coach [Jim] Flanery has done. We knew coming in it was going to be tough, especially after Friday. We were pretty disappointed with the way that we played against Butler and some things that occurred during that game. I was very happy with how we responded given the short turnaround. I thought we controlled the second half and that was the difference in the game."
Aliyyah Handford scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor in the latter stanza. The junior guard also pulled down nine boards and dished out three assists, narrowly missing a double-double.
Jade Walker and Danaejah Grant also reach double figures, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively. Grant added seven rebounds, while Walker also chipped in three blocks and four assists, setting a new career-high for helpers.
The sixth-leading rebounder in the nation heading into Sunday's contest, Amber Thompson grabbed nine boards and turned away a pair of shots. Thompson, the school's all-time leading rebounder, tallied her 900th board during the game.
The Red Storm was perfect from the floor to start the contest, converting on each of its first four field goal attempts. Despite the Red Strom's shooting success, Creighton was able to record five second-chance points in the early going, resulting in a tie score, 8-8, near the five-minute mark of the half.
The next several minutes of play produced more than a few ties and lead changes, as the two teams went bucket-for-bucket.
With her team trailing 15-14, Alexis Akin-Otiko scored inside with 9:29 to go to give the Bluejays the lead. After that, the Red Storm defense went into lockdown mode, holding Creighton scoreless for the next 8:22 and allowing the visitors to move ahead by as many as six, 22-16, following an elongated 7-0 run. Walker scored four points during that stretch.
The Bluejays added one three-pointer with about a minute remaining in the half, allowing the Red Storm to take a 22-19 lead into the intermission.
The Red Storm limited the Bluejays to just a 25 percent clip from the floor in the opening half and a 3-for-13 effort from beyond the arc.
St. John's came out of the gate on fire to start the second half, as Handford and Walker combined for the period's first six points and the Red Storm moved ahead by nine, 28-19, just 90 seconds into the action.
Over the next several minutes, the Red Storm continued to build its lead in a dominant fashion. Up 41-31 following a Sydney Lamberty jumper with 11:22 to go, St. John's once again held Creighton off the board for an incredibly long stretch, keeping the Bluejays scoreless for 7:32 and rattling off a 16-0 run to take a 57-31 advantage with 3:54 to go. Handford scored seven points to lead the Red Storm on the tear.
The Bluejays would narrow the gap in the closing minutes, but St. John's closed out the contest, 61-38.
