BIG EAST Action Continues at Xavier

The St. John's women's basketball team will look to kick off 2019 with its first BIG EAST victory of the campaign, traveling to Cincinnati for a showdown with Xavier at the Cintas Center.

The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be live streamed on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN) with Mike Schmaltz and Rich Hoyt the call.

The Red Storm (7-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) continues its three-game road stretch to open conference play following a loss to Seton Hall on Sunday in South Orange, N.J. Despite the setback, the Johnnies played neck and neck with the Pirates for a majority of the contest, as the matchup saw four ties and four lead changes. However Seton Hall took off on an 8-0 run over the tail end of the third quarter and never looked back to ultimately claim the victory.

Qadashah Hoppie is coming off of a 19-point performance, netting 10 of them in the first quarter alone. Following Sunday's showdown, the Staten Island native has finished in double figures a team-high nine times this season.

Led by Hoppie's 12.6 points per game, a trio of Johnnies are currently averaging double figures. Alisha Kebbe sits second on the team at 10.8 points per contest, while Akina Wellere is posting 10.4 per game. All three Johnnies rank inside the top-30 for scoring in the league.

Wellere has been an offensive force for the Red Storm since joining the team in 2015. During her four seasons with the Johnnies, the Chicago native has tallied a total 989 points and is just 11 shy of eclipsing the 1,000-point mark.

Kayla Charles has stepped up in the post position as of late for the Red Storm, as the Far Rockaway native enters Friday's contest leading the team in both rebounds (8.1) and blocks (1.3), to rank fifth and sixth in the conference. The local product is coming off of a 15-board performance against Seton Hall, marking the third time this season that Charles has finished with 10 or more caroms in a single contest.

Running the point for the Red Storm is redshirt sophomore Tiana England. The Stamford, Conn., native has played major minutes for the Johnnies, averaging 36.45 mpg, to lead the BIG EAST and rank 25th in the nation. England currently leads the league in assists and sits inside the top-20 on the national level through games played on Wednesday, averaging 6.0 helpers per game. The 5-foot-7 guard is also averaging 9.2 points and 2.0 steals per contest.

As a team, after recording 35 or more rebounds for the seventh time this season against Seton Hall on Sunday, St. John's currently sits third in the league in rebounding margin (+2.1). The Johnnies have also done a stellar job at protecting the ball, having surrendered fewer turnovers than their opponent in nine of 12 games so far this year. The Johnnies have also given up 10 or fewer turnovers on three different occasions this season.

The Red Storm and the Musketeers (9-4, 0-2 BIG EAST) will meet for the 11th time in the history of the two programs, a series dating back to 2014 in which the Johnnies currently hold an 8-2 edge, winning the last six meetings between the two teams.

The last time St. John's and Xavier met, the Musketeers suffered a 70-36 drubbing at the hands of the Red Storm. The affair marked the most lopsided decision in the series history with the Musketeers' 36 points registering as the lowest that either team has posted in their 10 meetings. All-time the Red Storm have held the Musketeers to just 53.3 ppg, allowing them to net just 38.9 percent from the floor.

Leading Xavier offensively is sophomore A'riana Gray, averaging 13.2 points per contest. The sophomore forward currently leads the BIG EAST in rebounding (10.0) to rank 36th nationally. Gray is also averaging 2.2 steals per game, ranking sixth in the conference.

Rookie Lauren Wasylson sits second in the league in three-point field-goal percentage (.456), while ranking 30th nationally. She is 31-for-68 from behind the arc and leads all BIG EAST freshmen in total three pointers made. The 6-foot guard also ranks seventh nationally among freshmen in three pointers made.

St. John's will wrap up its three-game road stretch on Sunday with Butler before traveling home to Queens, where the Johnnies will host Providence in the team's BIG EAST home opener on Friday, Jan. 11 at 11 a.m.

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Players Mentioned

Kayla Charles

Tiana England

Qadashah Hoppie

Alisha Kebbe

Akina Wellere

St. John's University Athletics