St. John's University Athletics
St. John's to Welcome Sacred Heart on Thursday Night
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - The winners of four straight, the St. John's Red Storm will conclude a three-game homestand on Thursday night, playing host to Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Jonathan Yardley and Kim Adams on the call.
QUICK HITS
The Red Storm enters Thursday's contest following a stellar win over nationally ranked USF on Sunday, a contest that saw St. John's withstand a late push by a Second Round NCAA Tournament team from a year ago. With the win, St. John's has now defeated nationally ranked opponents in each of the last three seasons. Last year, the Red Storm defeated No. 23/RV Seton Hall at home after downing RV/24 Texas A&M at Madison Square Garden in 2013-14.
For the first time this season, the Red Storm has received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. St. John's garnered 14 points in the latest edition of the poll released on Monday, good enough for third most among "others receiving votes." The Red Storm has received recognition in all four installations of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll this season, receiving 23 points in the most recent edition. The team's season-high in the Coaches Poll came in the preseason, as the Red Storm accumulated 33 points.
Following her outstanding individual performance against No. 18/17 USF, Danaejah Grant was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. The senior guard from Piscatway, N.J., tallied 27 points, four assists and four rebounds against the Bulls, shooting a blistering 53 percent from the floor. This is the second time that Grant has garnered player of the week accolades during her career, as she took home the honor following a career-high 30 points in last year's season opener against Yale. Last year, Grant was named Second Team All-BIG EAST after finishing fourth in the conference with 17.1 points per game. This season, Grant is leading the BIG EAST in scoring so far with 19.6 points per contest.
In addition to Grant's output against the Bulls, Aliyyah Handford also made her mark, putting up 23 points, pulling down six boards and swiping three steals. This season, the senior is averaging 16.4 points per outing and is converting on nearly half of her tries from the floor (35-71- 49.3%).
SCOUTING SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart enters Thursday's contest with a record of 1-4 after splitting a pair of games in Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving Weekend. The Pioneers defeated Coastal Carolina, 71-62, in the opener before falling to Louisiana-Lafayette in overtime. Prior to that, Sacred Heart had dropped three straight to Fairfield, Hartford and New Hampshire.
On the offensive end, the Pioneers are led by redshirt junior Hannah Kimmel, who is averaging 17.2 points per game entering the contest.
Two other Pioneers are averaging double figures on the young season, as Adaysha Williams has poured in 14.4 points per outing and Alissa Tarsi has chipped in 13.4 per game.
As a team, the Pioneers have struggled to maintain possession of the ball, surrendering 17.2 turnovers per contest.
ST. JOHN'S VS. SACRED HEART- THE SERIES
The Red Storm and the Pioneers have met on one occasion in the history of the two programs, as St. John's downed Sacred Heart, 77-72, in the 2013-14 season opener.
Thursday will be the first game between the two teams at Carnesecca Arena, as the previous contest, which required overtime, was played in Fairfield, Conn.
In that matchup, then-sophomore Aliyyah Handford had a monster performance, registering a double-double with 25 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
