St. John's Edged by UNLV in Overtime, 79-75

Sunday, December 1

Las Vegas, NV

2 p.m. ET

St. John's University

4-3,0-0Big East

UNLV

2-4,0-0Mountain West

OT 1

St. John's (NY)

UNLV

12/1/2019 6:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Correa recorded a team-high 20 points while Alston finished with a double-double

By: Victoria Lanza

After trading blows with UNLV for the first 40 minutes, the St. John's women's basketball team came up short in overtime, falling to the Lady Rebels, 79-75, on Sunday at Cox Pavilion.

Leilani Correa recorded a career-high 20 points for the Red Storm, knocking down all 12 of her attempts from the charity stripe. The rookie guard also registered eight boards and three steals against the Lady Rebels.

Alissa Alston had another solid performance for the Johnnies, notching the first double-double of her Red Storm career with 11 points and 10 boards.

Kadaja Bailey and Tiana England joined Correa and Alston in double figures, logging 13 and 12 points, respectively.

In a back-and-forth affair, neither team managed to open a lead larger than nine over 45 minutes of action.

Both programs struggled to generate much offense in the first quarter as St. John's (4-3) led, 7-6, midway through the opening frame. The Red Storm's first five points came by way of Emma Nolan, who made three early trips to the free-throw line. The freshman forward converted on five of her six attempts.

After 10 minutes of action, the Johnnies led the Lady Rebels (2-4), 15-13, with 11 of the Red Storm's 15 points coming from the charity stripe.

The two teams traded free throws to start the second stanza until the Johnnies unleashed a 6-1 run to build their lead up to seven, 23-16, with just under six minutes to play in the opening half.

The Red Storm continued its offensive surge, opening its largest lead of the game, 27-18, midway through the second quarter. Unique Drake put the Johnnies up nine with her first bucket of the day at the 4:25 mark.

UNLV managed to inch its way back, pulling the game within one twice over the remainder of the frame. The Johnnies held on to a 36-35 lead at the half.

Correa paced the way for the Red Storm at the intermission with 14 points in 14 minutes. The rookie from Manchester, N.J., converted on all eight of her attempts from the charity stripe.

The two teams traded buckets to open the third quarter until UNLV unloaded six unanswered points to take its first lead of the game, 43-40. The Johnnies and the Lady Rebels played evenly matched over the next several minutes before UNLV made a late push, outscoring the Red Storm 11-4 down the stretch to take a 60-53 edge after 30 minutes of action.

The Johnnies came out firing in the final frame, as England picked up an and-one that ignited a 10-0 run for the Red Storm. With that, the Johnnies regained the lead, 63-60, with under six minutes to play in the fourth.

The Lady Rebels continued to inch their way back, knotting the score five times over the final five minutes of action. With four seconds left in regulation and the Johnnies leading, 71-69, UNLV's LaTecia Smith finished at the rim to send the two teams into extra time.

Alston drew an early foul to get things started in overtime. The New Haven, Conn., native went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to put the Red Storm ahead, 72-71. This would be the Johnnies' final lead of the game as UNLV outscored the Red Storm, 8-3, over the remainder of the overtime period for the win.

The St. John's women's basketball team will return to action on Friday, when the Johnnies travel to New Haven, Conn., for a showdown with the Yale. Tip-off with the Bulldogs is slated for 7 p.m. and can steamed live on ESPN+.