Hoppie’s Record Sends St. John’s Past Ole Miss, 64-59

Saturday, November 24

St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

5:30 P.M.

St. John's University

4-1

University of Mississippi

3-4

St. John's

Ole Miss

Hoppie’s Record Sends St. John’s Past Ole Miss, 64-59

11/24/2018 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

Hoppie records 17 free throws to break a 16-year old program record

By: Victoria Lanza

Highlighted by 17 free throws from Qadashah Hoppie that broke a 16-year old program record, the St. John's women's basketball team defeated SEC foe Ole Miss, 64-59, in its final game of the Paradise Jam on Saturday night.

Hoppie was perfect from the charity stripe with 17 makes to break the program record that was previously held by Danielle Rainey who drained 15 against Texas-Arlington on Nov. 30, 2002. With 17 free throws, Hoppie scored a career-high 23 points, adding a pair of assists and a rebound to her name on the stat sheet.

Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, Kadaja Bailey finished in double-figures for the third time in five games this season, recording 15 points on a 5-of-6 shooting effort from the floor. The Long Beach native also saw success from the free throw line, knocking in four of her five attempts.

As, a team the Johnnies recorded a total 27 free throws, including 13 down the stretch to ultimately lift the Red Storm to victory.

In addition to their stellar effort from the charity stripe, the Johnnies grabbed a combined 35 rebounds. The Red Storm has now recorded at least 30 boards in four of the team's five games.

With wins over Purdue and Ole Miss, The Johnnies (4-1) finish as the second-place team of the Reef Division at the Paradise Jam. Redshirt sophomore Tiana England earned herself a spot on All-Tournament Team, averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 assists over the three-game tournament.

It was a low-scoring affair for both teams in the early going, as St. John's and Ole Miss traded off buckets in opening minutes. The Johnnies sank four of their 17 shot attempts while Ole Miss (3-4) made just three of its 17 chances to trail St. John's, 10-8, after 10 minutes of action.

The Johnnies changed up the momentum in the second quarter, shooting 61.5 (8-of-13) percent from the floor. Akina Wellere registered the opening points for St. John's before Ole Miss responded with a jump shot to pull the game within two, 12-10. The Johnnies then broke out on a 6-0 tear that was capped off by a fast break layup by England, extending St. John's lead to, 18-10.

The Johnnies built their lead up to as many as 10-points, 28-18, with a minute to play in the half. England added to that lead making a drive through traffic to send the Red Storm into the intermission with a 12-point advantage, 30-18.

England and Hoppie paced the team after the first 20 minutes of action, recording seven points each. As a team, the Johnnies shot 40.0 (12-of-30) percent from the floor and grabbed a total 23 rebounds in the first half.

Ole Miss hit the opening shot coming out of the break before the two teams traded off free throws over the next two minutes, with St. John's draining four-straight to extend its lead to, 36-25. The Johnnies continued to expand its advantage, breaking out on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a pair of three-point shots from Shamachya Duncan to give the Johnnies its largest lead of the night, 48-31.

Despite the Red Storm's 16-point edge with just over three minutes to play in the third frame, Ole Miss caught a second wind making a 10-1 run, hitting eight of its nine attempts from the field to pull the game within 10, 49-39, entering the final stanza.

Ole Miss continued to inch its way back into the game, breaking out on 10-2 run to start fourth quarter. However the Johnnies continued to battle, stringing together five-straight shots from the free throw line and extending its lead to, 56-49, with just a minute remaining. The Rebels continued to put up a fight but the Red Storm recorded a total 13 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

St. John's returns to action on Thursday, as the Red Storm welcomes Delaware State to Carnesecca Arena for the team's home opener at 7 p.m. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3.