St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
23-9
Creighton
17-17
St. John's Downs Creighton to Win BIG EAST Championship
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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CHICAGO - For the first time in nearly three decades, the Johnnies are the toast of the BIG EAST.
Powered by its third stellar defensive effort in as many games, the Red Storm captured the program's fourth BIG EAST title with a 50-37 victory over Creighton at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
"This is a thing that doesn't go away; it's for all time," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella after the game. "It bonds us, and we're very excited to represent the BIG EAST as the postseason champ as we move into the NCAA Tournament."
St. John's, which last won a conference crown in 1988, has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history and the sixth time in the last seven years. Overall, the Red Storm has now earned bids to a postseason tournament in nine-consecutive campaigns.
Aliyyah Handford was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, averaging 18.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 3.0 assists per outing. Against the Bluejays, the program's all-time leading scorer tallied 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Danaejah Grant was also named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest. The Piscataway, N.J., native scored nine points, grabbed five boards and dished out three assists against the Bluejays.
Junior guard Aaliyah Lewis led the way for the Red Storm on Tuesday evening, netting a game-high 14 points. The 5-5 product of Staten Island, N.Y., also matched a career-best with eight rebounds.
Sandra Udobi and Imani Littleton were instrumental on the boards, as they pulled down six rebounds apiece in the victory.
St. John's put up its best defensive effort of the season in the conference final, limiting the Bluejays to just 24.5 percent shooting from the field. Creighton also converted on just two of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc.
With the score tied at 28 after 30 minutes of action, Tartamella told his team in the huddle that something needed to change in the fourth quarter. His Red Storm squad took that directive to heart, outscoring the Bluejays 22-9 in the final stanza. The Red Storm shot 67 percent from the floor (6-9) during the fourth period and made nine of its 10 tries from the line.
Taking into account exceptional fourth-quarter efforts against DePaul and Georgetown, the Johnnies outscored their opponents 71-35 in the final 10 minutes of the game during the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament.
The Red Storm and the Bluejays struggled to find the bottom of the bucket in the early going, as both teams made five of their 16 tries (31%) in the first quarter. St. John's led 11-10 after the opening stanza.
The game continued to be a defensive battle at the outset of the second quarter, as the Johnnies kept Creighton without a point for the opening 5:32 of the period. Overall, the Red Storm held the Bluejays scoreless for 7:05 stretching back to the 1:33 mark of the first quarter, but only managed to build its lead to five, 15-10, during that time.
Creighton narrowed its deficit in the closing minutes of the first half, trailing by one, 21-20, heading into the locker room.
The Bluejays took the lead for the first time, 23-21, with an Audrey Faber three-ball on the second half's first possession, but Handford immediately followed with a transition layup to knot the score at 23 with less than a minute gone in the third quarter.
The two teams played evenly over the remainder a defense-driven third quarter, as the Red Storm and Bluejays entered the final period tied at 28.
Akina Wellere kicked off the fourth-quarter scoring with her third triple of the tournament to put the Red Storm up 31-28 with 30 seconds gone in the period. After a pair of free throws form Lauren Works narrowed the deficit to one, 31-30, St. John's held Creighton without a point for the next 4:26, scoring six unanswered to take its largest lead of the game so far, 37-30, with 5:04 to play.
The Red Storm continued to pull away in the closing minutes, building its lead to 13 by the game's conclusion.
St. John's will learn its destination for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 14.
