St. John's University Athletics
Red Storm to Face First Place DePaul on FS2
1/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CHICAGO - Currently tied for second place in the BIG EAST, St. John's (16-5, 7-3 BIG EAST) will have an opportunity to pull even with top-seeded DePaul (16-7, 8-2 BIG EAST) on Sunday afternoon, taking on the No. 23/21 Blue Demons at 1 p.m. ET on FS2.
QUICK HITS
The Red Storm enters Sunday's contest coming off a heartbreaking loss to an upstart Marquette team in Milwaukee on Friday night. For the second time in as many BIG EAST losses, the Red Storm was doomed by its opponent's effort on the offensive boards, as Marquette turned 13 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points. Two weeks ago against Villanova, the Wildcats tallied 20 second-chance points on 16 offensive boards.
Three members of the Red Storm reached double figures on Friday night, led by Danaejah Grant at 19 points. Aliyyah Handford narrowly missed a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Jade Walker added 10 points and five boards.
Marquette converted on 40.4 percent of its tries from the floor on Friday night, continuing a season-long trend in which the Red Storm is undefeated (9-0) when holding its opponents to 39 percent or less from the field. On the offensive end, St. John's continues to be one of the hottest shooting teams in the country, ranking first in the BIG EAST and 14th in the NCAA in field goal percentage.
This will be the Red Storm's fourth contest this season against a ranked opponent. In the first three contests, the Johnnies hold a record of 2-1. St. John's picked up home wins against No. 18/17 South Florida, 74-71, on Nov. 29th and No. 25/20 Seton Hall, 71-69, on Jan. 9th. The Red Storm's lone loss against a top 25 team came on Jan. 3, when No. 25/24 DePaul topped the Red Storm, 71-61, in Queens. This season marks the first time that St. John's has defeated multiple ranked opponents in the same campaign since 2011-12, when the Red Storm downed six ranked foes en route to the program's first-ever Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Johnnies recorded one ranked win in each of the last three seasons.
DePaul enters Sunday's game coming off a loss to Seton Hall on Friday night. The Blue Demons, winners of the last two BIG EAST titles, have not lost consecutive league games since conference realignment prior to the 2013-14 season.
SCOUTING DePAUL
Sitting atop the BIG EAST standings, DePaul sports a league record of 8-2 and a 16-7 mark overall.
The Blue Demons played a rigorous non-conference schedule, facing five top-15 opponents, including three teams in the top five, before the start of BIG EAST play. DePaul went 2-3 in those games.
Averaging 80.3 points per game, DePaul ranks 11th nationally in that category. The Blue Demons are also third in the NCAA in assists per game (20.8) and 11th in three-point field goals made per game (8.8).
DePaul has four players averaging double figures, led by Megan Podkowa and Chanise Jenkins at 14.8 points per contest.
ST. JOHN'S VS. DePAUL- THE SERIES
Sunday will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the Red Storm and the Blue Demons. DePaul holds an 11-4 record in the previous 15 contests.
The Red Storm's last win against DePaul came in McGrath-Phillips Arena on Jan. 11, 2014.
The Blue Demons have won the last five meetings between the two schools.
