Red Storm to Face Wake Forest on Sunday

Coming off its most lopsided win of the Joe Tartamella era, 82-44, against Delaware State on Thursday night, the St. John's women's basketball team travels to Winston Salem for a showdown with Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon.

Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra with Brian Rushing, Adrianne Bradshaw and Hailey Brooke McFadden on the call from LJVM Coliseum.

Leading the way offensively for St. John's is reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Qadashah Hoppie, with 11.8 points per game. The 5-foot-7 guard is one of three St. John's starters averaging double figures for the Red Storm, as junior Alisha Kebbe and senior Akina Wellere are averaging 10.2 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.

After pacing the Red Storm in assists last year, Tiana England has continued to be the key facilitator for the Johnnies this season. The Stamford, Conn., native has dished out at least five helpers in all but one game so far this season, ranking second overall in the BIG EAST and inside the top-20 on the national level with 6.3 assists per contest.

On Thursday night against the Hornets, the Red Storm (5-1) registered its largest win in more than a decade, as the 38-point margin of victory was the program's highest since a 97-56 drubbing of Morgan State on Dec. 30, 2007.

The impressive victory saw five players finish in double figures for the first time this season, with three recording double-doubles. This marked the first time in six years,that a trio of players have notched double-doubles in as single contest, as Wellere, Curteeona Brelove and Kayla Charles each reached double figures in both points and rebounds. Nadirah McKenith, Briana Brown and current assistant coach Shenneika Smith were the last three St. John's players to record double-doubles in the same outing, a 72-54 win over UCF on Nov. 11, 2012.

Wake Forest enters play 3-4 on the year following an 87-73 defeat to Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 28. Preseason All-ACC Team selection Elisa Penna had her second 20-point performance of the season for the Demon Deacons, scoring a team-high 22 points while Gina Conti added a season-high 18 points. Penna leads the Demon Deacons offensively this season with 16.8 points per game.

This is just the third all-time meeting between the two programs, with the series tied one-all. St. John's won the last meeting, 70-38, on Dec. 2, 2005.

After taking on Wake Forest, the Red Storm will return home to Carnesecca Arena where they will play back-to-back games at home, starting with Yale on Dec., 6 at 7 p.m. before welcoming ACC foe Florida State to Carnesecca Arena on Dec., 9 at 2 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Curteeona Brelove

Kayla Charles

Tiana England

Qadashah Hoppie

Alisha Kebbe

Akina Wellere

St. John's University Athletics