St. John's Faces No. 8/7 Marquette Friday at Carnesecca Arena

After picking up three-straight wins, the St. John's women's basketball team is back in action on Friday night for a showdown with No. 8/7 Marquette at Carnesecca Arena.

The red-hot Johnnies, who are 3-1 in the month of February, will tip off with the Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. on BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN). Pat O'Keefe and Sky Lindsay will be on the call from Queens.

Friday's contest will be the Johnnies' annual Pink Out game, as both teams will wear pink uniforms in an effort to help spread awareness for breast cancer.

Facing the Golden Eagles for the second time this season, St. John's (12-12, 5-8) will look to claim its first victory over a top-10 opponent since Feb. 18, 2012, when the Johnnies knocked off No. 2/2 UConn on the road.

Behind a stellar scoring effort from Curteeona Brelove, St. John's offense has been in sync as of late, propelling the program to victories over Xavier, Creighton and Providence. Brelove has averaged a team-high 14.0 points per game during this stretch, shooting a team-best 48 percent from the floor.

Tiana England has hit her stride over the last three games for the Red Storm, stuffing the stat sheet with 10.7 points, 6.6 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. The Stamford, Conn., native has finished in double figures in two of the last three games, while dishing out five or more helpers in each contest to help lift the Johnnies to wins over the Musketeers, Bluejays and Friars.

Akina Wellere joins Brelove and England in double figures during the Johnnies' recent win streak, boasting 10.3 points per game. Sitting just shy of the double-digit mark, Alisha Kebbe is averaging 9.7 points per game over the trio of contests. The Philadelphia native has been a bright spot defensively for the Red Storm averaging 5.3 boards and 1.6 steals per game.

On the defensive front, the Johnnies have held their last three opponents below their season scoring averages. Most notably Xavier and Creighton, who were each kept 20 points below their season average.

The Red Storm has also done a tremendous job protecting the ball as of late, winning the turnover battle in the team's last three games. Over the trio of contests, the Johnnies forced a combined 43 miscues while surrendering just 28 of their own.

Friday's contest against Marquette will test the Johnnies, who appeared to have hit a breakthrough with less than one month left in the regular season. The Red Storm aims to avenge its 83-73 setback to the Golden Eagles earlier this season in Milwaukee.

Marquette enters Friday's contest undefeated in conference play. The Golden Eagles are coming off of a 93-55 blowout victory over Villanova on Sunday. Four Golden Eagles scored double-figures, including a team-high 22 points from Natisha Hiedeman, who shot 7-of-14 from the field. Hiedeman leads the way offensively for Marquette this season, netting 17.9 points per game, to rank second overall in the BIG EAST.

Dating back to 2005, Marquette owns a 12-9 all-time record in the series with St. John's. The Golden Eagles have won the last three meetings with the Johnnies however under the guidance of Head Coach Joe Tartamella, the Red Storm has bested the Golden Eagles on seven of 12 occasions.

After Friday's contest, the Johnnies will return to action when they welcome DePaul to Madison Square Garden. The game, which is part of a doubleheader with the men's team is set to begin at 1 p.m. on FS2.

St. John's Faces No. 8/7 Marquette Friday at Carnesecca Arena

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Players Mentioned

Curteeona Brelove

Tiana England

Alisha Kebbe

Akina Wellere

St. John's University Athletics