St. John's University Athletics
Friday, January 4
Cincinnati, OH (Cintas Center)
7:00 PM
St. John's University
76
at
57
Xavier University
Wellere Scores 1,000th Point in 76-57 Win over Xavier
1/4/2019 10:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wellere leads the team with 21 points en route to Johnnies’ first BIG EAST victory
The St. John's women's basketball team claimed its first BIG EAST victory of the campaign on Friday evening, downing Xavier, 76-57, at Cintas Center.
With the win over the Musketeers, the Johnnies have now topped Xavier in seven-straight meetings, improving their all-time record to 9-2 in the series.
Akina Wellere led the Red Storm with 21 points, highlighted by the 1,000th point of her St. John's career. The senior from Chicago became just the 24th player in program history to reach that plateau as a member of the Red Storm and the fourth Johnnie in five years, joining Aliyyah Handford, Danaejah Grant and Jade Walker. The 5-foot-11 guard made nine of her 13 tries from the floor, while draining a trio of triples. Wellere also added six boards.
Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year selection, Kadaja Bailey registered her second-career double-double, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds. Seven of the rookie's 11 points came in the third quarter alone.
Curteeona Brelove and Tiana England also netted double figures for the Red Storm, recording 12 points apiece. England, the league leader in assists, continued her facilitating ways, tying Qadashah Hoppie with a game-high six helpers.
Alisha Kebbe stuffed the stat sheet for the Red Storm, coming just shy of a double-double. The Philadelphia native brought down a career-high 12 rebounds and scored nine points for St. John's.
Entering the game ranked third in the league in rebounding margin, the Red Storm proved dominant on the glass once again. The Johnnies won the battle on the boards, 47-31, tying their second highest rebounding total of the season.
St. John's jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the two teams traded off buckets over the next few minutes, with the Red Storm holding a 13-7 edge at the midway mark in the first quarter.
Xavier used a pair back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to knot the game at 15 at the 2:11 mark. The Johnnies responded as Wellere and Bailey made consecutive jump shots to regain the lead, 19-15. With under a minute reaming in the opening quarter the Musketeers used a triple to pull the game within one, 19-18, after 10 minutes.
The Johnnies were on fire in the early going of the second stanza, as the Red Storm took off on a -9-0 run over the opening minutes. The sequence of events started with a fast break jump shot off the hands of Bailey. Seconds later Wellere drained her first triple of the evening, making it 24-18 in favor of the Red Storm. England followed that with a drive through traffic to extend the Johnnies' lead, 26-18, before Wellere capped off the 9-0 run with a layup of her own to notch her 1,000th-career point.
With under four minutes remaining in the half, and the Red Storm leading by double digits, 35-25, Xavier inched back within five, as the two teams entered the intermission with the Johnnies ahead, 35-30.
At the half, Wellere paced the Red Storm with 11 points, draining five of her seven tries from the floor.
Coming out of the break, the two teams traded off possessions before the Red Storm used an 8-0 spurt to build its lead to as many as 13, 53-40, with just over a minute to play.
Xavier added three more points before the Red Storm closed the quarter on a 7-2 run and led 60-45 with 10 minutes remaining. Bailey scored five-straight points on the run, while England chipped in a pair.
Xavier put up the opening points in the final quarter, before the Red Storm made 7-0 run to keep it a 20-point difference, 67-47. The Johnnies maintained its lead over the remainder of the game and closed out the contest with a 76-57 victory.
As a team, the Johnnies shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the second half, converting on 17 of its 33 attempts.
.
St. John's returns to action on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Indiana for a 1 p.m. showdown with Butler at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
With the win over the Musketeers, the Johnnies have now topped Xavier in seven-straight meetings, improving their all-time record to 9-2 in the series.
Akina Wellere led the Red Storm with 21 points, highlighted by the 1,000th point of her St. John's career. The senior from Chicago became just the 24th player in program history to reach that plateau as a member of the Red Storm and the fourth Johnnie in five years, joining Aliyyah Handford, Danaejah Grant and Jade Walker. The 5-foot-11 guard made nine of her 13 tries from the floor, while draining a trio of triples. Wellere also added six boards.
Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year selection, Kadaja Bailey registered her second-career double-double, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds. Seven of the rookie's 11 points came in the third quarter alone.
Curteeona Brelove and Tiana England also netted double figures for the Red Storm, recording 12 points apiece. England, the league leader in assists, continued her facilitating ways, tying Qadashah Hoppie with a game-high six helpers.
Alisha Kebbe stuffed the stat sheet for the Red Storm, coming just shy of a double-double. The Philadelphia native brought down a career-high 12 rebounds and scored nine points for St. John's.
Entering the game ranked third in the league in rebounding margin, the Red Storm proved dominant on the glass once again. The Johnnies won the battle on the boards, 47-31, tying their second highest rebounding total of the season.
St. John's jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before the two teams traded off buckets over the next few minutes, with the Red Storm holding a 13-7 edge at the midway mark in the first quarter.
Xavier used a pair back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to knot the game at 15 at the 2:11 mark. The Johnnies responded as Wellere and Bailey made consecutive jump shots to regain the lead, 19-15. With under a minute reaming in the opening quarter the Musketeers used a triple to pull the game within one, 19-18, after 10 minutes.
The Johnnies were on fire in the early going of the second stanza, as the Red Storm took off on a -9-0 run over the opening minutes. The sequence of events started with a fast break jump shot off the hands of Bailey. Seconds later Wellere drained her first triple of the evening, making it 24-18 in favor of the Red Storm. England followed that with a drive through traffic to extend the Johnnies' lead, 26-18, before Wellere capped off the 9-0 run with a layup of her own to notch her 1,000th-career point.
With under four minutes remaining in the half, and the Red Storm leading by double digits, 35-25, Xavier inched back within five, as the two teams entered the intermission with the Johnnies ahead, 35-30.
At the half, Wellere paced the Red Storm with 11 points, draining five of her seven tries from the floor.
Coming out of the break, the two teams traded off possessions before the Red Storm used an 8-0 spurt to build its lead to as many as 13, 53-40, with just over a minute to play.
Xavier added three more points before the Red Storm closed the quarter on a 7-2 run and led 60-45 with 10 minutes remaining. Bailey scored five-straight points on the run, while England chipped in a pair.
Xavier put up the opening points in the final quarter, before the Red Storm made 7-0 run to keep it a 20-point difference, 67-47. The Johnnies maintained its lead over the remainder of the game and closed out the contest with a 76-57 victory.
As a team, the Johnnies shot 51.5 percent from the floor in the second half, converting on 17 of its 33 attempts.
.
St. John's returns to action on Sunday afternoon, traveling to Indiana for a 1 p.m. showdown with Butler at the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Women's BasketballSt. John's WBB Game 1 Postgame Press Conference 3.7.25
Friday, March 07
Postgame Press Conference St. John's WBB vs Georgetown 2.26.2025
Wednesday, February 26
Post Game Press Conference St. John's WBB vs Butler 2.16.2024
Sunday, February 16
Postgame Press Conference St. John's WBB vs Xavier 2.2.25
Sunday, February 02