St. John's Downs Seton Hall, 76-51, Advances to BIG EAST Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 9

Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)

3:00 PM

St. John's University

15-15

Seton Hall University (First Round)

15-15

St. John's (NY)

Seton Hall

St. John's Downs Seton Hall, 76-51, Advances to BIG EAST Quarterfinals

3/9/2019 6:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Akina Wellere led the way for the Red Storm with 18 points

By: Victoria Lanza

Kicking off the final BIG EAST Tournament of her storied career, Akina Wellere led the way for St. John's, as the Red Storm moved past Seton Hall with a 76-51 victory in the first round on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, St. John's secured a date with top-seeded Marquette. The Red Storm and No. 17 Golden Eagles will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at McGrath-Phillips Arena, with the game being broadcast live on FS2.

"Our kids really played well," said Head Coach Joe Tartamella. "We're excited, obviously, to be able to get a W. It's certainly no easy task as you look to play four games in four days, but we're taking it one at a time."

The victory over the Pirates marked the first time in program history that the Johnnies have recorded a win as the no. 9 seed.

Wellere paced the way for the Johnnies, registering a game-high 18 points on a 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-5 from distance. The Chicago native also added two rebounds and two assists to her name on the stat sheet.

Curteeona Brelove registered her sixth double-double of the year, bringing down a game-best 11 rebounds to go along with 15 points for the Johnnies. The senior forward from Malone, Fla., converted on seven of her nine field goal attempts.

The conference's leader in assists, Tiana England, finished just shy of a double-double, dishing out a game-most nine dimes to go along with 11 points.

Qadashah Hoppie and Kadaja Bailey also finished in double figures for the Red Storm. Hoppie chipped in 13 points while Bailey finished with 11.

As a team, St. John's put forth a stellar shooting effort, netting 52.8 (28-of-53) percent from the floor and 52.9 (9-of-17) percent from downtown. The Red Storm also drained 73.3 (11-for-15) percent from the charity stripe.

The Johnnies provided a fantastic defensive effort on Saturday, limiting the Pirates to just 17 points in the second half.

Seton Hall was hot out of the gate, firing off an 8-2 run over the opening minutes to take an early lead. The Johnnies responded unleashing seven unanswered points to jump ahead of the Pirates, 9-8, at the midway mark in the first frame. The two programs played tightly contested over the remainder of the opening quarter with the Johnnies holding on to a one-point lead, 17-16, after 10 minutes of action.

The two teams traded blows over the second quarter, as the contest saw a trio ties and 10 lead changes with the Johnnies leading, 38-34, at the intermission.

Entering the break, Hoppie paced the way for the Red Storm, recording 10 points on a 3-of-8 shooting from the floor. The Staten Island native also grabbed a pair of boards while dishing out two assists after 20 minutes of action.

Coming out of the locker room, the two teams traded buckets in the early going of the third quarter. With 4:23 left on the clock, the Johnnies unleashed a 14-2 run to take its largest lead of the game to that point, 43-59, entering the final frame.

The Red Storm locked in on both sides of the ball over the final 10 minutes of play, holding the Pirates to just eight points, while draining 17 to cement a 25-point victory.

St. John's will make its 28th all-time appearance in the quarterfinal round of the BIG EAST tournament tomorrow. A win over nationally ranked Marquette on Sunday would mark the Red Storm's 11th appearance all-time in the conference semifinals. The two teams will tip-off at 1 p.m. ET. The matchup will be broadcast live on FS2.