St. John’s Outlasts Yale, 56-52

Thursday, December 6

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

6-2

Yale

5-5

Yale

St. John's

12/6/2018 11:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Three players finish with a team-high 12 points for the Red Storm

By: Victoria Lanza

Tied at 52 with just under two minutes to play, the St. John's women's basketball team battled back and downed Yale, 56-52, at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday night to improve to 2-0 in Queens and 6-2 on the season.

"I'm proud of the team's effort to come out and win," said St. John's Women's Basketball Coach Joe Tartamella. "It was certainly a game that could have gone either way for us. This is a big one to be able to hold on here at home."

Qadashah Hoppie, Alisha Kebbe and Akina Wellere all three paced the field for the Red Storm, netting 12 points each. Wellere also added five rebounds, a pair of steals and block to her name on the stat sheet.

Tiana England finished just shy of a double-double, recording 11 points on a 5-of-9 shooting effort from the floor. The 5-foot-7 guard from Stamford, Conn., also brought down a career-high nine boards, while grabbing three steals and dishing out four assists.

The Johnnies jumped out to an early 5-0 lead draining their first two tries. However Yale came from behind and rattled off a 5-0 run of its own to tie the game after three minutes of action.

Just seconds later, Kebbe snapped the deadlock with a jump shot to kick start another big run for the Red Storm. The Johnnies netted two of their next three tires, giving St. John's an 11-7 advantage at the midway mark of the opening stanza.

The two team's traded off buckets over the remainder of the first quarter before England padded the Johnnies' lead, 15-11, with a buzzer beater to end the first quarter.

The Johnnies put forth a stellar effort protecting the ball over the first 10 minutes of action, as the team did not surrender a single turnover.

Following their hot start, the Johnnies cooled off in the early going of the second frame, allowing Yale to make a 9-0 run and take over the lead, 20-18, at the midway mark. Hoppie broke the Red Storm's scoreless drought with a shot from the charity stripe to pull the contest within one, 20-19. Yale then drained back-to-back threes, extending its lead to 26-19 with just two minutes remaining in the half.

As the clock began to wind down, the Johnnies turned on the jets and uncorked a 7-0 spurt to tie the game at 26 entering the intermission. The sequence began with a layup by England before Hoppie netted a shot from long distance to pull the game within two. Wellere capped off the run for the Red Storm with a jump shot to tie the game.

Coming out of the break the two teams traded off buckets in the early going of the third quarter before Kebbe's jump shot ignited a 6-0 run for the Red Storm. The two teams battled over the next few minutes before Wellere beat the shot clock with just eight seconds remaining in the third quarter to send the Johnnies into the final frame with a 44-41 edge.

With the Jonnies ahead 50-47, and just under five minutes left on the clock, the Bulldogs drained a shot from long distance to tie the game at 50. England responded with a beautiful pass to Hoppie who netted a jumper and gave the Johnnies a two-point lead, 52-50. Yale would tie the game for the last time at 52 before Kebbe came up clutch with a crucial three to ultimately cement the victory for the Red Storm.

St. John's returns to action at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday afternoon, playing host to Florida State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.