St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
18-10, 10-7BE
Creighton
20-6, 14-2BE
St. John's Falls Short at Creighton, 67-60
2/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. - The St. John's women's basketball team (18-10, 10-7 BIG EAST) dropped a hard-fought 67-60 decision at Creighton (20-6, 14-2 BIG EAST) on Sunday at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb., despite getting double-doubles from Jade Walker and Maya Singleton.
"I thought we played as hard as we've played all year for 40 minutes," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We made some great runs to answer some of Creighton's great runs. Unfortunately we weren't able to execute enough from the free throw line and towards the end of the game. Give Creighton credit, they are obviously a great team. I was proud of our team. I was really proud of them today. This was one of our prouder moments all year, even though we didn't get a win. We will look to continue to build off this weekend and get ready for our last game at home versus Seton Hall and then get ready for the BIG EAST tournament and beyond."
Walker finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The senior also brought down 10 rebounds. Singleton added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The junior from Indian Head, Md., also grabbed 10 rebounds for her second double-double in the last four games.
Walker and Singleton became the first pair of teammates to record a double-double in the same game since Amber Thompson and Danaejah Grant accomplished the feat on March 26, 2015.
Alisha Kebbe chipped in 10 points while grabbing three rebounds. The freshman shot 4-for-7 from the field and drained her lone three-point attempt.
Akina Wellere added 12 points and five rebounds. The sophomore from Chicago, Ill., hit five of her 10 attempts from the floor, including two of her five tries from behind the arc.
The Johnnies outperformed the Blue Jays in second-chance points, 12-4, while Creighton saw a better performance from its bench, 19-2 in points.
The teams played fairly even in shot percentage as the Red Storm shot 41 percent from the field (21-for-51) to Creighton's 40 percent shooting (19-for-47).
St. John's and Creighton played a tight first quarter with no team leading by more than three until the 3:27 mark when Sydney Lamberty hit a three to give the Bluejays a 16-11 lead. Later, with Creighton leading 18-12, Walker hit a pair of jumper to cut the lead to two, 18-16, but the Bluejays scored with 51 seconds left before the end of the period to take a 20-16 advantage into the second quarter.
Creighton opened the second with a pair of free throws, but St. John's answered with a 6-0 run to tie it at 22 with 7:35 to play before the break. Then, with the Bluejays leading 27-24, Singleton hit a jumper in the paint to make it a one-point game, 27-26. Creighton then scored the next six points to take a 33-26 lead into the locker room.
Both teams shot well from the floor in the first half with St. John's netting 11 of its 26 tries. Creighton hit 12 of its 26 tries but went just 1-for-10 from behind the arc.
St. John's battled back in the third and used a 6-0 run to take a 46-45 lead with 1:32 left in the period. Kebbe, Lewis and Crystal Simmons all had baskets during the spurt. Earlier in the quarter, Wellere scored seven straight points to bring the Johnnies within three, 40-37. Creighton hit a pair of free throws with 1:03 left in the quarter to take a 47-46 edge into the fourth.
In the fourth, St. John's got within one, 53-52, after four unanswered points midway through the period. Later, with the Johnnies down 57-54, Creighton scored four straight to go ahead 61-57. From there, the Bluejays outscored St. John's, 6-3, to close out the win.
The Johnnies wrap up the 2016-17 regular season next Sunday, Feb. 26 at Carnesecca Arena against Seton Hall. The opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network. Prior to the start of the game, St. John's will be honoring the four graduating players playing in their final home game.
