St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Visits Albany on Thursday
11/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes | Watch Live | Live Stats
QUEENS, N.Y. - Following a fourth-place finish at one of the top holiday tournaments in the nation, the St. John's women's basketball team returns to the Empire State to take on Albany Thursday for its fourth-straight game away from Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm and Great Danes are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first tip inside the SEFCU Arena live on ESPN3. Rich Becker will provide the play-by-play.
With the graduation of All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Aaliyah Lewis, redshirt freshman Tiana England has assumed the role of primary distributor on this year's edition of the Red Storm. The Stamford, Conn., native currently ranks third in the league with 5.4 assists per game and dished out a season-high 10 helpers against No. 3/2 South Carolina in last weekend's Gulf Coast Showcase.
Maya Singleton is one of just three players in the BIG EAST currently averaging a double-double. The senior has posted four games of 10-plus points and rebounds through the team's first five games, which are the most double-doubles for a Red Storm player since former standout Danaejah Grant recorded five double-doubles during the BIG EAST Championship season of 2015-16. Dating back to the 2007-08 season, Amber Thompson, St. John's all-time leading rebounder holds the single-season record with eight double-doubles during the 2013-14 campaign.
Albany enters play on Thursday with an overall record of 4-1 following a 72-60 win over Central Connecticut earlier in the week. Albany was picked to finish second in the America East Conference by the league's head coaches after advancing to the conference title game for the second-straight season last year.
Jessica Fequiere is the team's leading scorer at 20.6 points per game. The redshirt senior is shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 48.3 percent from beyond the arc. The 5-11 forward is also grabbing 4.6 rebounds per game and finished with 26 points, five steals and five rebounds in the team's last game against CCSU.
Through five games, Albany is shooting 42.2 percent from long distance and 38.2 percent from the floor overall.
Thursday's game between St. John's and Albany will be the third meeting all-time between the two schools. The Red Storm owns a 2-0 record in the all-time series history. Prior to last season, the Johnnies and Great Danes last met in 1998.
Last season, Singleton scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 54-36 win over the Great Danes at Carnesecca Arena. Defensively, the Red Storm held Albany to just 28.0 percent shooting from the floor and forced 29 turnovers.
Following Thursday night's contest at Albany, the Red Storm returns to Florida to take on Miami on Sunday, Dec. 3 for a 1 p.m. opening tip inside the Watsco Center. The game between the Johnnies and Hurricanes will be carried live on ACC Network Extra, which is available on the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
