St. John’s to Host Lafayette in Home Opener

Wednesday, November 13

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

Lafayette

11/12/2019 4:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Johnnies and the Leopards will square off at 7 p.m. on ESPN3

By: Victoria Lanza

After downing St. Bonaventure last week to open the 2019-20 season, the St. John's women's basketball team will kick off action inside Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night, welcoming Lafayette for the squad's home opener.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN3 with Drew Casey and Sky Lindsay on the call from Queens.

The Red Storm will host its first home game on the heels of a 68-56 victory at St. Bonaventure last Tuesday. In the Red Storm's 12-point win, four different Johnnies finished in double-figures as the team shot 46 percent from the field.

BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Leilani Correa led the way for the Johnnies with 18 points against the Bonnies. The Manchester, N.J., native was the first rookie to score 18 or more points in a collegiate debut since Kia Wright blew up with 33 in 2004. With double-digit scoring against St. Bonaventure, Correa became the third St. John's freshman in as many seasons to record double figures in a rookie debut. The 6-foot guard joined Kadaja Bailey and 2018 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Qadashah Hoppie who scored 14 and 16 points in their first contests.

Redshirt senior Alissa Alston also excelled in her first on-court appearance for the Red Storm. The New Haven, Conn., native finished with 13 points and two steals. Hoppie, the Red Storm's top returning scorer from a season ago, also recorded 13 points while grabbing four rebounds.

Bailey joined Correa, Alston and Hoppie in double figures, registering 11 points in her first career start for St. John's.

After leading the BIG EAST in assists last season, Tiana England continued her facilitating ways, as the redshirt junior dished out a game-high 10 helpers against St. Bonaventure. This marked the seventh time in England's career that she has dished out 10 or more assists in a single contest. With 10 helpers, England bumped her career total up to 357, moving her inside the top-10 on the Red Storm's all-time assists list.

Lafayette enters play on Wednesday with a 1-1 record after falling to Binghamton on Friday, 74-64. The Leopards' lone win of the season came in the team's home opener as Lafayette defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 61-29, on Nov. 5.

Natalie Kucowski, Lafayette's leading scorer from a season ago, opened the 2019-20 campaign with a double-double performance, scoring 10 points while pulling down 12 rebounds against FDU. In just two games this season, Kucowski leads the team with 16.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest.

Wednesday will mark the second meeting all-time between St. John's and Lafayette, with the Johnnies leading the series, 1-0. The Red Storm's victory over the Leopards came on Dec. 3, 2016, as the Johnnies defeated Lafayette, 64-46, at Carnesecca Arena.

After squaring off with Lafayette, the St. John's women's basketball team will travel to Harrisonburg, Va., for an afternoon contest with JMU on Sunday at 2 p.m.