St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
16-6, 7-4BE
[23/21] DePaul
17-7, 9-2BE
No. 23/21 DePaul Outlasts St. John's, 77-71
1/31/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CHICAGO - Taking on the top team in the BIG EAST, St. John's battled back from a large second-half deficit before ultimately falling to No. 23/21 DePaul, 77-71, on Sunday afternoon in The Windy City.
"I thought we gave a great effort in the second half to make it a close game," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We need to focus on the positive aspects and carry them over to next weekend."
Danaejah Grant led the Red Storm (16-6, 7-4 BIG EAST) with 24 points on the afternoon, highlighted by a three-for-five effort from beyond the arc. The senior guard from Piscataway, N.J., also pulled down seven boards.
Junior guard Aaliyah Lewis tallied 13 points for the Red Storm, while backcourt mate Aliyyah Handford registered 12 points and six boards. The senior guard from Newark, N.J., also matched a career-high with seven assists.
Junior forward Jade Walker recorded eight points and set a new career-high with 14 rebounds against the Blue Demons.
Freshman Akina Wellere, a Chicago native, chipped in six points and three rebounds.
DePaul, one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams, connected on eight tries from beyond the arc. The Blue Demons also assisted on 24 of their 30 made field goals.
DePaul (17-7, 9-2 BIG EAST) found its offensive rhythm early, jumping ahead 15-8 at the five-minute mark of the opening period. Jessica January, who was honored before the game for notching her 1,000th career point, tallied nine of those 15 points for the Blue Demons. January would finish the game with 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
The Blue Demons maintained a lead in that vicinity for the remainder of the period, as Ashton Millender beat the buzzer with a three to put DePaul up nine, 25-16, after 10 minutes of action.
St. John's registered the second quarter's first four points to pull within five, 25-20, but DePaul responded with a 9-0 run to move ahead by 14, 34-20, with just over six minutes to go in the half.
The Red Storm narrowed the gap by the intermission, as Grant connected on a three-ball to trim the deficit to 12, 42-30, in the closing seconds of the first half.
St. John's whittled the DePaul advantage down to single digits, 43-34, in the opening minutes of the third quarter on buckets from Lewis and Grant. After the Blue Demons bumped the spread back to 13 with four unanswered, Grant rattled off five straight to pull the Red Storm within eight, 47-39, with 6:07 to go in the third quarter.
DePaul would rebuild its lead by the conclusion of the third quarter, holding a 61-47 advantage after 30 minutes.
Trailing by 13, 66-53, with seven minutes to go, the Red Storm rattled off six in a row to pull within seven, the game's smallest scoring margin since the 8:19 mark of the second quarter.
St. John's continued to battle the rest of the way, pulling within five, 72-67, in the closing minute of action on a Grant triple. The Red Storm, however, failed to get any closer, as DePaul escaped with a 77-71 victory.
