St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
12-7, 4-4BE
Creighton
13-5, 7-1BE
NR/RV Creighton Upends St. John's, 55-43
1/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery 
| Aaliyah Lewis matched a game-high with 12 points. The senior guard hit five of her six free throw attempts while recording three assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals. Jade Walker and Akina Wellere chipped in nine points apiece. Crystal Simmons hit two of the Red Storm's four three pointers, finishing with six points, four rebounds and two blocks. St. John's jumped out to a 5-2 lead after Lewis drained a three and Imani Littleton hit a lay-up early in the first. The Bluejays answered with a 10-0 run, taking a 12-5 lead with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. Late in the period, Walker hit a pair of free throws, cutting the Creighton lead to five, 14-9, at the end of the first. Simmons opened the second with a pair of threes, giving the Red Storm a 15-14 advantage with just over eight minutes to play in the half. Again, Creighton had an answer, scoring 14 straight points to retake the lead, 28-15. With time winding down in the half, Alisha Kebbe and Maya Singleton both hit lay-ups, but St. John's trailed 28-19 at the break. In the third, the two teams traded short runs with the Johnnies getting within six late in the period. After Creighton went up 10, 38-28, with 3:40 to play in the quarter, Wellere hit a pair of free throws and Lewis stole the ensuing inbounds pass and finished, cutting the deficit to 38-32 entering the fourth. Wellere knocked down a jumper to kick off the fourth quarter, making it a four-point game, 38-34. Creighton responded with six unanswered points in 59 seconds to take a 44-34 lead. After Walker finished off an old fashioned three-point play, the Bluejays scored the next six points to take a 50-37 advantage with under four minutes to play, putting it out of reach. St. John's returns to action on Sunday when the Red Storm host Providence at 2 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena. The game can be seen live on the BIG EAST Digital Network. -- Red Storm --">Quotes | Postgame Press Conference
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team dropped a 55-43 decision to NR/RV Creighton at Carnesecca Arena Friday night as the Bluejays (13-5, 7-1 BIG EAST) limited the Red Storm (12-7, 4-4 BIG EAST) to its second-lowest point total of the season.
"Creighton did a nice job at keeping us off balance, we never really got our footing in this game," Head Coach Joe Tartamella said. "I thought we changed the momentum in the second half where we wanted it to be and we were able to cut it to four, but then we had too many empty possessions missing a ton of shots."
As a team, St. John's struggled from the field, converting on just 13 of its 54 attempts (24.1 percent). Defensively, the Johnnies caused 16 turnovers and came away with seven steals, but Creighton shot 42.6 percent (20-for-47) from the field and grabbed 37 rebounds to the Red Storm's 31.
Aaliyah Lewis matched a game-high with 12 points. The senior guard hit five of her six free throw attempts while recording three assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals.
Jade Walker and Akina Wellere chipped in nine points apiece. Crystal Simmons hit two of the Red Storm's four three pointers, finishing with six points, four rebounds and two blocks.
St. John's jumped out to a 5-2 lead after Lewis drained a three and Imani Littleton hit a lay-up early in the first. The Bluejays answered with a 10-0 run, taking a 12-5 lead with just under two minutes to play in the first quarter. Late in the period, Walker hit a pair of free throws, cutting the Creighton lead to five, 14-9, at the end of the first.
Simmons opened the second with a pair of threes, giving the Red Storm a 15-14 advantage with just over eight minutes to play in the half. Again, Creighton had an answer, scoring 14 straight points to retake the lead, 28-15. With time winding down in the half, Alisha Kebbe and Maya Singleton both hit lay-ups, but St. John's trailed 28-19 at the break.
In the third, the two teams traded short runs with the Johnnies getting within six late in the period. After Creighton went up 10, 38-28, with 3:40 to play in the quarter, Wellere hit a pair of free throws and Lewis stole the ensuing inbounds pass and finished, cutting the deficit to 38-32 entering the fourth.
Wellere knocked down a jumper to kick off the fourth quarter, making it a four-point game, 38-34. Creighton responded with six unanswered points in 59 seconds to take a 44-34 lead. After Walker finished off an old fashioned three-point play, the Bluejays scored the next six points to take a 50-37 advantage with under four minutes to play, putting it out of reach.
St. John's returns to action on Sunday when the Red Storm host Providence at 2 p.m. inside Carnesecca Arena. The game can be seen live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
