St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
12-3 (3-1BE)
Butler
7-9 (3-2BE)
Red Storm Falls to Butler, 55-50
1/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Aliyyah Handford tied a season-high with 27 points on 10-17 shooting from the floor, but Butler shot 42 percent from the field en route to a 55-50 victory over St. John's on Friday night.
Butler (7-9, 3-2 BIG EAST) charged back in the closing minutes, erasing a five-point deficit with the help of an incredibly rare five-point possession with under a minute to go.
"Obviously this is a tough loss for us," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We didn't do the things towards the end of the game that we needed to... Our first half was probably the worst that we've executed on both ends this season, yet we still gave ourselves a chance in the end. Credit to Butler, who made the plays that allowed them to stay in the game and hold on to it."
The Red Storm took a huge hit early in the second half when Danaejah Grant, the third-leading scorer in the conference, picked up her second technical foul of the game and was ejected after attempting to save a ball from going out-of-bounds by throwing it off an opposing player. Grant, who had yet to score fewer than 12 points in any one game this season, left the contest after scoring just six points.
Amber Thompson, the sixth-leading rebounder in the nation heading into the game, led the Red Storm (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST) with 12 boards, six of which came on the offensive glass.
In addition to her 27-point outburst, Handford also tallied five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
After setting a career-high with nine helpers against Connecticut, Aaliyah Lewis distributed seven assists against the Bulldogs, surrendering no turnovers in the process.
Jade Walker narrowly missed finishing in double figures for the Red Storm, scoring eight points and grabbing three boards.
Handford had the scoring hand early for the Red Storm, scoring six of the team's first eight points as the two squads battled back and forth to start.
With the game tied at 10 near the 12-minute mark of the opening half, Butler outscored the Red Storm 13-4 over the ensuing seven minutes of action, moving ahead by as many as nine, 23-14, on a Blaire Langlois jumper with just over five minutes remaining in the period.
Facing its largest deficit of the game, the Red Storm defense clamped down. St. John's forced four turnovers in the span of just four minutes, allowing the Red Storm to move within four of the Bulldogs, 23-19, in the waning minutes of the half.
Butler converted on an and-one in the closing seconds of the period, taking a 26-19 lead into the intermission.
Out of the break, the Red Storm scored the latter stanza's first four points in less than a minute on buckets from Walker and Handford, moving within three of the Bulldogs, 26-23. By the 16 minute mark of the half, another Handford jumper had tied the contest at 28.
With the contest tied, Butler rattled off a 9-1 run, highlighted by five points from Ijeoma Uchendu, to move ahead 37-29 with just over 13 minutes to go.
The Red Storm wasted no time answering back, as four points from Handford sparked a 7-0 St. John's run, narrowing the gap to one, 37-36, at the midway mark of the period.
After Loryn Goodwin moved Butler ahead by three, 39-36, with a layup just a few seconds later, the Red Storm held the Bulldogs scoreless for the next 4:29. During that time the Red Storm put five points on the board and took a 41-39 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the second half.
Anchored by an and-one from Handford, the Red Storm climbed ahead by as many as five, 46-41, with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.
From there, Butler scored five in a row to knot the contest at 46, but on the ensuing possession Handford found Thompson with an acrobatic pass underneath the basket, leading to an easy layup and giving the Red Storm a 48-46 advantage with just over two minutes to go.
After a pair of empty trips for both teams, a strange string of events culminated in Bulldogs taking five points on a single possession. In an attempt to get over a ball screen, Crystal Simmons was called for a foul. Simultaneously, Langlois let go of a three from the right wing, which found the bottom of the bucket. The official counted the shot in addition to granting two shots to the Bulldogs, who were in the double bonus. By the time the Red Storm regained possession of the ball, Butler led 51-48 with just 45 seconds to go.
The Red Storm would pull within one on a pair of Handford free throws less than 10 seconds later, but Butler was able to pull away and seal the 55-50 victory.
St. John's will be back in action on Sunday, traveling to Omaha, Neb., for a matinee with Creighton.
