St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Welcomes Villanova on Friday Night
2/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. - With just six regular-season BIG EAST games remaining and the race for a bye in the BIG EAST Tournament beginning to heat up, the St. John's Red Storm will welcome Villanova to Carnesecca Arena on Friday night at 8 p.m. The game will be the second-straight nationally televised contest for the Red Storm, as the tilt will be broadcast on FS2 with Lisa Byington and LaChina Robinson on the call.
QUICK HITS
On Wednesday afternoon, Aliyyah Handford became just the second player in school history to find a place on the Midseason Watch List for the Naismith Trophy (Da'Shena Stevens, 2009-10). The senior guard from Newark, N.J., is one of just 34 players from across the country, including three members of the BIG EAST, that are in contention to the nation's most prestigious individual award.
With each passing game, Handford draws closer to solidifying her legacy as the most dominant player in the history of St. John's Women's Basketball. Currently sitting in second place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,887 points, Handford is just 63 points away from tying Ling Ling Hou (1976-80) for the highest career point total in school history. The 5-9 guard is also one rebound away from cracking the top 10 (651) on that career list and currently sits in fifth place on the all-time steals list with 243 career swipes.
Following a career-best performance against Seton Hall on Sunday to help the Red Storm complete the season sweep of its local rival, Aaliyah Lewis was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the first time in her career. The 5-5 point guard from Staten Island, N.Y., tallied a career-best 22 points against the Pirates, sinking seven of her 11 tries from the floor and putting in a seven-for-eight effort from the charity stripe.
After scoring 20 points against Seton Hall, Danaejah Grant is now tied with Nadirah McKenith for 12th place on the St. John's all-time scoring list with 1,293 points in red and white, despite playing just 82 career games for the Red Storm. The 5-9 senior guard from Piscataway, N.J., is the BIG EAST's second-leading scorer at 19.2 points per game this season and has reached double figure scoring numbers in 26 consecutive games dating back to last season.
SCOUTING VILLANOVA
After splitting a pair of games at home last weekend, Villanova comes to St. John's with a record of 15-9 overall, including an 8-5 mark in conference play.
The Wildcats take care of the ball better than any other team in the nation, surrendering just 8.2 turnovers per game. Villanova also leads the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio, distributing 1.8 helpers for every miscue.
Pacing the Wildcats in a number of statistical categories, senior guard Caroline Coyer quarterbacks the Wildcat offense. In addition to averaging 14.9 points per game, Coyer also ranks third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.7. Prior to a four-assist, four-turnover outing against Marquette on Sunday, Coyer was leading the nation in that category.
The Wildcats are not afraid to shoot the trey, ranking 13th nationally in three-point field goals made per game (8.7).
ST. JOHN'S VS. VILLANOVA- THE SERIES
Friday evening will mark the 60th meeting all-time between the Wildcats and the Red Storm, with Villanova holding a 34-25 advantage over its longtime BIG EAST foe.
The two teams have played four thrilling contests over the last two seasons, with three of those matchups coming during the 2014-15 campaign. The Red Storm and Wildcats split the regular season series before Villanova defeated St. John's in the WNIT Round of 16 at The Pavilion.
Villanova claimed victory on its home floor, 58-54, in the first meeting between the two teams this season on Jan. 17.
