St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
5-3
Rutgers
2-8
St. John's Blows by Rutgers, 65-39
12/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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QUEENS, N.Y. - Behind a team-record 32 points in the first quarter, the St. John's women's basketball team came away with a 65-39 win over Rutgers at Carnesecca Arena Wednesday night. The Red Storm (5-3) have now won three-straight games at home.
The 32 points topped the team's pervious single-quarter record of 28, which they amassed in the first quarter of the second game of the 2015-16 campaign against UC Irvine.
Defensively, St. John's held Rutgers to the lowest point total in the series history dating back to 1978.
"I thought this was probably our most complete game, even better than the Virginia win, with how we played top to bottom" said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "I thought our bench gave us great minutes and gave us 20 points. When we've been in the 20- to 30-point range from our bench, it's been great."
Sophomore Akina Wellere led the charge, scoring a game-high 19 points. For the game, the Chicago, Ill., native hit 6-of-7 from behind the arc, one shy of tying Kim MacMillan's single-game record of seven. MacMillan drained seven threes against Binghamton in 2003 and then matched it in 2004 against Miami.
Jade Walker scored nine points and had three rebounds. The senior set a career-high by going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Redshirt senior Sandra Udobi had her best game of the season, chipping in nine points and grabbing a pair of rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
Freshman Alisha Kebbe brought down a season-high 10 rebounds and became the first Johnny to record at least 10 rebounds in a game since Walker's 14 boards against DePaul on Jan. 31, 2016.
Aaliyah Lewis and Crystal Simmons both had five helpers as the Johnnies recorded 15 assists on 18 made field goals.
As a team, the Red Storm hit 7-of-15 from behind the arc and went 22-for-32 from the free throw line. The St. John's defense held Rutgers (2-8) to just 24.6 percent shooting and caused 20 turnovers.
After the Scarlet Knights scored the game's first three points, St. John's took over and never looked back. An Imani Littleton lay-up at the 9:13 mark sparked a 20-0 run that gave the Johnnies a 20-3 lead with under five minutes left in the first quarter. Wellere paced the offense with nine points on three three-pointers. Walker added seven points and Littleton had four. Wellere finished the first quarter with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from long distance as St. John's took a 32-13 lead into the second quarter.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the second, as Rutgers made just 1-of-17 from the field. St. John's hit just 2-of-14 from the floor but converted six of its eight attempts from the free throw line, bringing a 42-17 lead into the locker room.
The Red Storm found its stroke again in the third, hitting 5-of-9 from the field while holding the Scarlet Knights to just 5-of-14. Wellere hit two more threes in the quarter, giving her a career-high six makes for the contest. Wellere's triple with 2:30 left in the period gave St. John's its largest lead of the contest at 32, 53-21.
In the fourth, Rutgers outscored St. John's, 11-8, but the game was out of reach. The Red Storm closed out the 65-39 win and has now won eight-straight over the Scarlet Knights dating back to 2010.
St. John's returns to action next Tuesday, traveling to the Bronx to take on Fordham at Rose Hill Gym. The first tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
