St. John's University Athletics
St. John's to Close Road Swing at Rutgers
11/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Red Storm will play the last of a three-game road swing to open the season on Thursday night, traveling to Piscataway, N.J., for a matchup with former conference foe Rutgers at 7 p.m. at the RAC.
QUICK HITS
St. John's split its opening weekend on the West Coast, falling to UCLA on Friday night before rebounding with a convincing with against UC Irvine on Sunday. In that victory over the Anteaters, Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor, while Jade Walker chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman Akina Wellere recorded her first game in double figures for the Red Storm, putting up 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists in the win.
On Thursday night while Joe Tartamella's squad takes on Rutgers, the St. John's men's basketball team will host the Scarlet Knights at Carnesecca Arena. The occurrence marks the first time since Jan. 29, 2006 that both the St. John's men's and women's teams will play the same opponent on the same day. On that day, Kia Wright and Angela Clark scored 19 points apiece to help St. John's move past West Virginia, 74-69, and improve to 17-3 on the season. Later that year, the Red Storm, with Tartamella in his first season as an assistant coach, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kevin Pittsnoggle registered a game-high 19 points for the Mountaineers as No. 9 West Virginia outlasted the Johnnies, 66-61. Both games were played at Madison Square Garden.
Through two games this season, the deciding factor for the Red Storm has been its effort on the glass. Against a bigger UCLA lineup, the Red Storm was outrebounded 50-32 en route to a 73-58 defeat. Two days later, St. John's beat UC Irvine on the boards, 41-32, in its 22-point victory.
With a lineup of talented post players and guards that can slash to the basket with ease, the Red Storm has held a decisive advantage on points in the paint in the early going of the 2015-16 season. Through two games, the Johnnies are outscoring their opponent 68-42 in front of the basket.
Junior Jade Walker has been tremendous despite limited minutes for the Red Storm this season. The Maplewood, N.J., native is averaging 13.5 points per game despite foul trouble that has limited her to just 16 minutes per outing. The 6-1 forward had converted on 12 of her 17 attempts from the floor, including one from deep.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers, a Second Round NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, returns plenty of talent to its roster for the 2015-16 season.
Through two games, the Scarlet Knights are 1-1, defeating St. Joe's on the road Friday before suffering a 77-49 defeat at the hands of Seton Hall inside Walsh Gymnasium on Monday night.
Kahleah Cooper has led the way for the Scarlet Knights in the early going, averaging 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest. The senior from Philadelphia tallied 30 points and 10 boards against the Hawks before scoring a team-high 17 in the Scarlet Knights' loss to the Pirates. Through two games, Cooper is shooting 63 percent from the floor and 60 percent from beyond the arc.
As a team, Rutgers is shooting a blistering 50.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point land, but has struggled to hold on to the ball. Through two contests, the Scarlet Knights are averaging 20 turnovers per game.
ST. JOHN'S vs. RUTGERS--THE SERIES
Longtime BIG EAST foes before Rutgers left the conference prior to the start of the 2013-14 season, the Red Storm and the Scarlet Knights will meet for the 41st time in the history of the two programs on Thursday night.
Despite trailing the all-time series by a 31-9 margin, the Red Storm has enjoyed great success in its recent history with the Scarlet Knights. In the last six meetings between the two schools dating back to 2010, St. John's is 6-0 against Rutgers.
Two of those wins came when Rutgers was ranked in the top 25. The Red Storm topped No. 7/8 Rutgers at home on Jan. 17, 2012 and then beat the No. 17/16 Scarlet Knights once again less than a month later at The RAC on Feb. 12.
Before the Red Storm's current six-game win streak in the series history, the Scarlet Knights won 17 in a row from 1997-2009.
