St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
12-5, 4-2BE
Georgetown
9-7, 1-5BE
St. John's Downs Georgetown, 71-66
1/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Behind a solid all-around effort from senior Aaliyah Lewis, the St. John's women's basketball team took down Georgetown, 71-66, at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C. on Friday night.
"This was a terrific team win for us tonight," Head Coach Joe Tartamella said. "Coming off our last game and having to be on the road, this was a great bounce back. I thought we had a number of terrific performances tonight, especially from our bench."
Lewis tied a career-high with 13 assists, added nine points and brought down a season-best eight boards. Playing all 40 minutes for the fifth time this season, Lewis committed just one turnover for the third time this year including twice in the last three games.
Jade Walker scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. The Maplewood, N.J., native has now scored 20 or more points in four of the six BIG EAST games the Red Storm has played this season. The senior also grabbed six rebounds and tied a career-best with four assists. On the defensive side, Walker rejected a pair of shots and came away with one steal.
Akina Wellere chipped in 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior Imani Littleton tied a career-high with 14 points and hauled in eight rebounds. Additionally, Littleton matched a career-best with a pair of steals. Crystal Simmons set a career-high with three blocks.
As a team, St. John's (12-5, 4-2 BIG EAST) shot 44.3 percent from the field, converting 27 of its 61 tries on the night. The Johnnies struggled from behind the arc, hitting just two of their eight attempts from long distance, but 16 offensive rebounds led to 21 second-chance points. Down low, the Red Storm outscored Georgetown (9-7, 1-5 BIG EAST), 32-24, in the paint.
St. John's seemed to be in control early, taking a five-point advantage, 7-2, after Littleton converted a lay-up less than two minutes into action. The Hoyas eventually tied the game at 13 after Dorothy Adomako hit a three-pointer with 5:14 to go in the opening quarter. After Georgetown took a 15-13 lead two minutes later, Lewis found Wellere for a fast-break lay-up with just over a minute to go, tying it at 15. With time winding down in the first quarter, Lewis missed a jumper and the teams went into the first intermission knotted at 15.
In the second, Georgetown used a 9-4 run to open the period and led 24-19 after a three by Mykia Jones at the midway point of the quarter. From there, St. John's closed out the period by outscoring the Hoyas, 14-4, to take a 33-29 lead into the locker room. Redshirt senior Sandra Udobi sparked the offense during the spurt, scoring six of the team's 14 points. The Delta State, Nigeria native hit a pair of free throws before draining a pair of jumpers.
In the third, St. John's turned up the offensive pressure, leading by as many as 13 points on two separate occasions. The first came during a 7-0 spurt that saw the Red Storm lead go from eight, 39-31, to 13, 44-31. Lewis capped the run with a three off an assist from Simmons. Just over a minute later, Littleton put in a lay-up to put the Johnnies back up 13, 47-34, with 2:53 to play in the quarter. After the Hoyas cut the lead to eight, 52-44, Littleton extended the advantage back to 10 with a lay-up, giving the Red Storm a 54-44 edge entering the fourth quarter.
Throughout the final 10 minutes, Georgetown threatened and got within striking distance late, getting within five points, 65-60 with 2:38 to play, but Lewis went 4-for-6 from the charity stripe over the final 38 seconds of play to close it out.
St. John's is back in action on Sunday, taking on Villanova at The Pavilion at 2 p.m. The game can be seen live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
