St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
16-7 (7-5BE)
Providence
5-19 (2-11BE)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 23 | 26 | 49 |
| St. John's | 37 | 33 | 70 |
St. John's Downs Providence, 70-49
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
| Box Score (PDF) | Highlights
QUEENS, N.Y. - Forcing 26 turnovers and holding Providence to 35 just percent shooting from the floor, the Red Storm turned in its best defensive performance in nearly two months on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Friars 70-49 at Carnesecca Arena.
"This was a much-needed win for us," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We talk a lot about our next game always being the most important, but this one probably had a little more meaning because of where we've come from in the last couple of days. I thought we played well in long spurts for the first time in three games and we did the things that created our identity over the years. I thought we defended better today, we didn't give up the three, we rebounded and got to the line, all the things we talked about doing well. It's a lot more fun to play the way we did today, and to watch it as well. As a team we were together and we had some great performances from the players that have carried us and will continue to carry us. I hope that this is the springboard as we move forward into our last six or seven regular-season games and get ready for the conference tournament. We want to make sure we are peaking at the right time. You always have these lulls in the season, and we hope that we've learned from it and we can move forward."
Aliyyah Handford was one of two St. John's players to turn in double-doubles on the afternoon, finishing the game with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.
Amber Thompson tallied her third double-double of the season, netting 10 points on four-of-five shooting and pulling down 13 boards. The Newark, N.J., native also recorded three blocks, moving her into a tie with Shenneika Smith for third place on the St. John's career blocks list with 154.
Danaejah Grant poured in 18 points for the Red Storm, in addition to grabbing a career-high four steals.
Aaliyah Lewis, who Grant described as the team's "motor" following the game, dished out a career-high 10 assists and recorded three steals against the Friars.
Jade Walker also added six points on three-of-three shooting and picked up a career-high four blocks.
The Red Storm found it hard to miss early, converting on four of its first six attempts and moving ahead 12-2 with just over five minutes gone in the opening half. Handford scored seven of the Red Storm's first 10 during that stretch.
The Friars then held St. John's scoreless over the next four minutes, but the Red Storm's defense held strong and only allowed Providence to pull within six, 12-6, with just under 12 minutes remaining in the period.
Over the next several minutes, St. John's outscored Providence 10-2, using a litany of forced turnovers to take a 22-8 lead with 8:38 to go.
The Friars responded to the Red Storm's run with nine unanswered points of their own to trim the deficit to five, 22-17, with just under five minutes remaining until the break. From there, the Red Storm built its lead up once again, rattling off a 15-3 run and pulling ahead 37-20 with less than a minute to go in the first half.
Trailing 37-23 at the break, Providence narrowed its deficit to single digits in the opening minutes of the second half, as Aliyah Miller hit a jumper to make it 39-30 with three and a half minutes gone.
With the lead diminishing, the Red Storm responded by rattling off an 11-2 run, taking its largest lead of the game at that point, 50-32, with 12 less than minutes to go.
The Red Storm kept its foot on the gas in the closing minutes of the contest, leading by as many as 27 by the time the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read 70-49 in favor of the home team.
St. John's will hit the road next weekend, traveling to the Midwest for a game against Marquette on Friday night before heading to The Windy City for a Sunday afternoon game with DePaul.
