St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
7-3
Wagner
1-9
St. John's Upends Wagner, 62-34
12/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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| VIDEO: Highlights | VIDEO: Postgame Press Conference
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team limited Wagner (1-9) to just 20.6 percent shooting from the floor as the Red Storm (7-3) cruised to a 62-34 victory at Carnesecca Arena Saturday afternoon. With the win, St. John's has now won five straight overall and 14 in a row against the Seahawks.
"I'm happy to get this win," Head Coach Joe Tartamella said. "I thought we played better in the second half than the first, which I didn't think we really had a lot of energy coming out to start the game. It was good to be able to get our bench in. We have to get prepared for Wednesday against James Madison."
As a team, the Red Storm sank 26 of its 62 shot attempts to finish the contest at a 41.9 percent clip. On the defensive side, St. John's limited Wagner to just 13-of-63 from the floor, including 2-of-19 from behind the arc, in the Red Storm's best defensive effort of the season.
Jade Walker led all players with 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The senior from Maplewood, N.J. also brought down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
Alisha Kebbe chipped in nine points in 16 minutes off the bench. Maya Singleton added eight points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
Kendyl Nunn set season-highs with seven points, two rebounds and two assists, while Jordan Agustus scored a career-best seven points and tied a career-high with six boards.
St. John's used a balanced attack in the first quarter to jump out to a 15-6 lead after the first 10 minutes. Aaliyah Lewis and Akina Wellere hit back-to-back threes to open the scoring, giving the Johnnies a 6-0 lead early in the period. Walker, Lewis and Kebbe all had four points in the opening quarter. Wellere chipped in five rebounds to go along with three points.
In the second, St. John's turned up the defensive pressure as Wagner hit just two of its 16 attempts from the floor. Walker and Singleton led the offense with four points each as the Red Storm went 6-for-15 from the field. With the Johnnies leading 26-13 in the final seconds of the period, Singleton hit a jumper to give the Red Storm a 28-13 advantage at the break.
St. John's took over in the third, thanks in large part to its play in the paint. After Kebbe drained a three to give the Red Storm a 37-17 advantage with 4:57 left in the quarter, Agustus scored three the hard way, extending the Johnnies' lead to 40-17. Then, with under a minute to play in the period, Shamachya Duncan hit a three to extend the St. John's lead to 26, 45-19, its largest lead of the game at that point. St. John's scored 10 points down low, while limiting Wagner to just two points in the paint.
In the fourth, St. John's saw its lead grow to 29, 58-29, after Nunn hit a three and a lay-up on back-to-back possessions. The Red Storm outscored Wagner, 17-12, over the final 10 minutes to put away its fifth-straight win.
Overall, St. John's dominated in the paint, outscoring the Seahawks, 34-18, down low. Additionally, St. John's got a season-high 36 points off the bench, led by Kebbe's nine and Singleton's eight.
St. John's returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts James Madison in the team's annual Field Trip Day game. The first tip is scheduled for 11 a.m. on ESPN3.
