St. John’s Downs Providence, 60-57

Sunday, February 10

Providence, RI (Alumni Hall)

1:00 PM

St. John's University

12-12 (5-8)

Providence College

14-11 (6-7)

St. John's

Providence

2/10/2019 4:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

A trio of Johnnies finish in double figures en route to third-straight BIG EAST win

By: Victoria Lanza

Looking to keep its recent success alive on Sunday afternoon at Providence, the St. John's women's basketball team put forth a stellar effort to push past the Friars, 60-57, and come away with its third-straight victory to even the season series with the Friars.

Alisha Kebbe led all scorers with 15 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the floor. The Philadelphia native played stellar defense for the Johnnies, recording a trio of steals en route to the Red Storm's win. Kebbe also brought down five boards, while dishing out a pair of assists.

Tiana England and Curteeona Brelove joined Kebbe in double figures recording 14 and 12 points, respectively. Entering the contest as the league's BIG EAST leader in assists, England dished out a game-high five, while also recording a team-most seven boards.

Akina Wellere stuffed the stat sheet for the Red Storm, finishing just one point shy of notching double digits with nine points. The Chicago native also added five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Providence controlled the momentum early in the game, draining 12 unanswered points to lead 12-0 with under five minutes to play in the first quarter.

Qadashah Hoppie snapped the Johnnies' scoreless drought with a drive through traffic to put the Red Storm on the board with 2:38 left in the first quarter. This ignited a 6-0 run for St. John's, to cut the Friars' lead in half, 12-6.

The two teams traded buckets over the tail end of the first quarter, with Providence leading 16-10 after 10 minutes of action.

The Friars continued to dominate offensively in the first half of the second stanza, outscoring the Johnnies, 7-2, and extending their lead to 23-12 at the 5:30 mark.

The Johnnies rattled off a 13-2 run over the tail end of the second quarter to knot the game at 25 with under a minute to play in the half. With 19 seconds remaining in the frame, the Friars found the bottom of the net to pull ahead by two, 27-25.

With the clock winding down, England came up clutch for the Red Storm, draining a shot from in the paint to send the two teams into the locker room, tied at 27.

Providence kicked off scoring in the second half, before the Johnnies converted on back-to-back buckets, including a triple from Wellere to give the Johnnies their first lead of the day, 30-29. The Red Storm added to its advantage on its very next possession with a fast break from England to put the Johnnies up by three, 32-29.

The two teams traded blows over the next few minutes before the Johnnies unleashed a 9-2 run down the stretch of the third quarter to lead, 43-37, after 30 minutes of action.

The Friars fired off the first five shots of the final frame to pull the game within one, 43-42, in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.

With the score tied at 45 following a Providence free throw, St. John's peeled off a 6-0 run to pad its lead, 51-45, with 6:43 left in the contest. The Friars continued to battle down the stretch but the Johnnies never lost sight of the lead to ultimately seal the victory.

St. John's will return to action on Friday, when the Johnnies welcome No. 8/7 Marquette Carnesecca Arena for a 7 p.m. contest, before taking on DePaul on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 10 at 1 p.m.