St. John's University Athletics
St. John's University
Xavier
St. John's Defeats Xavier, 67-63, Behind Strong Defense
1/7/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI - Behind a strong defensive effort, the St. John's women's basketball team recorded its second-straight BIG EAST win on Sunday afternoon, defeating Xavier, 67-63, at Cintas Center.
Maya Singleton was a force in the second half for the Johnnies (9-7, 2-3 BIG EAST), recording 12 points and 11 rebounds in the final 20 minutes alone for her 10th double-double of the season. The senior scored 16 and grabbed 14 in the game, leading both sides in each category.
The Red Storm finished the game with a trio of players reaching double figures as Singleton (16), Qadashah Hoppie (16), and Alisha Kebbe (15) all reached the plateau for the visitors.
After Tiana England split a pair of free throws to give the Red Storm a 66-63 lead with just seven seconds remaining, the Red Storm defense forced the miss and held on for the win.
In a similar start to Friday's game against Creighton, St. John's struggled to find its offensive touch early in the game. Kebbe broke the ice for the Red Storm with a drive to the basket and a 3-pointer to cut the Xavier lead to 8-5 at the midway point of the opening quarter.
After allowing the Musketeers (8-7, 1-3 BIG EAST) to convert on 3-of-4 field goals to start the game, the Johnnies held Xavier without a basket for the next 6:11 and embarked on a 7-0 run to grab a 9-8 lead with just over a minute remaining in the opening quarter. The Musketeers snapped its scoreless drought with a 3-pointer to end the first period and held 11-9 lead after 10 minutes.
Despite shooting 3-of-16 (18.8%) from the field in the opening quarter, St. John's played suffocating defense on one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm held the Musketeers to only 11 points on a 4-of-13 shooting clip and forced two turnovers.
Xavier started the second quarter with an offensive spurt, grabbing its largest lead of the game at 16-11. After both teams traded buckets, St. John's used four turnovers in a 3:47 span to spark a 5-0 run and tied the game at 18 heading into the media timeout.
Both teams caught fire offensively to end the first half, with each using runs to trade leads. After the Musketeers used a 6-0 run on a pair of threes to grab the 25-20 lead, St. John's responded with a 7-0 run of its own to take a 27-25 lead into the final minute of the stanza.
The Red Storm ended the opening 20 minutes by converting on 4-of-5 shots, including six points from Imani Littleton in the final minute of action to take a 31-27 lead into the halftime break.
St. John's finished the second quarter shooting 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the field and forced six turnovers which turned into nine points to spark the 22-point period.
Hoppie and Kebbe each led the game with nine points at the half with Kebbe also adding four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in the opening 20 minutes.
The Johnnies continued to stifle the Xavier attack in the third quarter, forcing a trio of turnovers in the opening 3:36 of the second half and held the Musketeers without a field goal during that same span. St. John's also continued to score on the offensive end, building a 40-32 lead after a Singleton layup.
After Xavier cut the lead to 42-40, Singleton struck with a pair of buckets for the Red Storm to put the visiting side up 48-43. The senior also recorded a steal and offensive rebound in the final minutes of the third period.
Singleton cemented her 10th double-double of the season just moments in the fourth quarter when the Indian Head, Md., native snagged her 10th rebound of the contest in the frame's first possession.
Xavier tied the game at 48 with a 5-0 spurt to start the quarter and forced a St. John's timeout. Singleton continued her dominant second half by drawing an offensive foul on the Musketeers before converting on the offensive end to give the Red Storm a 50-48 lead.
XU trimmed the lead down to 53-52 before fouling Littleton and sending her to the line. After the senior sank the first shot, Littleton missed the second but Singleton was there grab the offensive rebound, worked her way to the charity stripe, and converted both shots as the Johnnies led, 56-52, with 4:52 to play.
St. John's built its largest lead of the night at nine thanks to a Kebbe three and Singleton layup, 61-52, before the Musketeers responded with five points to force a Red Storm timeout with 1:32 remaining.
Free throws and strong defense secured the win for the Johnnies down the stretch as the visitors collected their sixth-straight win over Xavier.
Despite allowing the Musketeers to convert on 11-of-21 (52.4%) from three, St. John's held Xavier to 10-of-27 (37%) from inside the arc in the win.
St. John's will look for its third-straight BIG EAST win on Wednesday when the Johnnies travel to Indianapolis to battle Butler at 7 p.m. on FS2.
