St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
15-4, 6-2BE
Georgetown
4-16, 2-6BE
St. John's Downs Georgetown, 74-57
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the first of three-consecutive road games, St. John's shot a blistering 56.6 percent from the field, it's second-best effort of the season, en route to picking up a 74-57 victory at Georgetown on Friday evening.
"This was a great team win for us on the first part of this three-game road swing," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "It was great to see our bench contribute in such a large way."
Aliyyah Handford led the Red Storm (15-4, 6-2 BIG EAST) with 22 points against the Hoyas (4-16, 2-6 BIG EAST), marking the sixth-consecutive game and the ninth time in the last ten contests that Handford has scored at least 20 points. The Newark, N.J., native also tied a career-high with six assists, pulled down five boards and picked up a pair of steals.
Danaejah Grant and Amber Thompson also scored in double figures for the Red Storm. Grant finished the contest with 16 points and six boards, while Thompson recorded a season-high 13 points in addition to tallying six rebounds and five blocks.
Freshman forward Tonoia Wade set a new career-high with seven points, converting on all three of her attempts from the field. The Bloomington, Minn., product also grabbed five boards in a career-best 27 minutes of action.
Georgetown's Katie McCormick hit a three on the opening possession of the game, but the Red Storm responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to take the early lead.
After the Hoyas evened the score at seven just over a minute later, Handford sparked a 13-2 scoring run for the Red Storm, helping her team take a 20-9 lead with just under 12 minutes left until the break. The junior guard scored eight of the team's 13 points during the streak.
The Red Storm continued to build its lead over the remainder of the half, holding the Hoyas scoreless for nearly five minutes and moving ahead by as many as 20, 35-15, following an acrobatic and-one from Tonoia Wade to cap an 11-0 run with four minutes left until the intermission.
Georgetown held St. John's scoreless for the remainder of the first half, trimming the deficit to 15, 35-20, at the break.
Handford led St. John's with 16 points in the opening stanza, converting on her first four attempts from the floor.
The Hoyas came out of the gate hot to start the second half, cutting the deficit to single digits less than two minutes into the period.
The Red Storm would not allow the Hoyas to hang around for long, building its lead back to 20 by the midway mark of the half. St. John's unleashed a 13-4 run, highlighted by a Thompson and-one, to climb ahead by as many as 26, 60-34, with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
Georgetown would make one last push, trimming the Red Storm lead to as little as 14, 68-54, but the Red Storm expanded its advantage down the stretch, closing out the contest, 74-57.
Kimberly Spruill scored the first points of her college career in the game's closing minutes, nailing a three-pointer from the corner in front of the St. John's bench.
