Hoppie and Kebbe Score 1,000th Point in 64-58 Victory over Providence

Friday, January 17

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

11:00 a.m.

St. John's University

11-7,4-3Big East

Providence

9-9,0-6Big East

Providence

St. John's (NY)

Hoppie and Kebbe Score 1,000th Point in 64-58 Victory over Providence

1/17/2020 3:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. Providence

Hoppie paced the Red Storm in scoring with 16 points

By: Victoria Lanza

The St. John's women's basketball team secured its seventh win at Carnesecca Arena on Friday afternoon, topping BIG EAST foe Providence, 64-58, in front of a sold out crowd.

As part of the Red Storm's (11-7, 4-3 BIG EAST) annual field trip day, the Johnnies welcomed over 5,000 students to Queens for the conference showdown.

For the first time in program history the Red Storm saw two different Johnnies eclipse their 1,000th career point in the same game, as Qadashah Hoppie and Alisha Kebbe joined an elite group of players. The guard duo became the 25th and 26th players in program history to reach that plateau. With Hoppie and Kebbe both hitting the century mark, the Johnnies have now seen six players in six years achieve that milestone, joining former Red Storm standouts Akina Wellere, Aliyyah Handford, Danaejah Grant and Jade Walker.

Four Johnnies closed out play in double figures for the Red Storm with Hoppie leading the way, knocking down 16 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half.

Tiana England went off for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. The redshirt junior also recorded four boards and a team-high four assists while swiping one steal en route to the Red Storm's victory.

Alissa Alston exploded for 12 points in the opening half, finishing with 13 points, three assists and three rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

Kebbe finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds. The senior guard also grabbed three steals against the Providence Friars.

The Johnnies won the turnover battle, forcing 18 Providence miscues and converting those into 11 points. On the other side of the coin, the Red Storm surrendered just eight turnovers.

Neither team managed to generate much offense in the early going of the contest as Providence (9-9, 0-6 BIG EAST) held a two-point lead, 6-4, at the first media timeout.

Coming out of the huddle, the Friars extended their lead to four, 8-4, with a layup made by Oliva Orlando. The Red Storm responded with a 7-3 run to knot the game at 11 with just over three minutes to play in the first stanza.

The visiting Friars outscored the Red Storm, 4-2, over the final few minutes, with Providence leading by one possession, 15-13, after 10 minutes of action.

Alston kicked off scoring for the Johnnies in the second stanza, draining a shot from deep to help the Red Storm regain the lead, 16-15. Providence responded with a layup to jump ahead, 17-16. Both programs went without a point over the next two minutes until Alston snapped the scoreless drought with a shot from beyond the arc to give the Red Storm a two-point edge, 19-17.

The Johnnies and the Friars traded blows over the remainder of the half as the two teams dead locked three times down the stretch. The score was knotted at 25 at the intermission.

Following 20 minutes of action, Alston paced the Johnnies with 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor, converting on both of her tries from distance. The redshirt senior also had a 4-for-4 showing at the charity stripe.

The back-and-forth battle carried over into the third quarter. With the score tied at 36 and under two minutes to play, St. John's used a 7-2 run to take a five point lead, 43-38. Providence continued to fight over the remainder of the third, trimming its deficit to four, 45-41, entering the final frame.

In the opening seconds of the fourth quarter, Hoppie drew a foul to take a trip to the charity stripe where she went 1-for-2, extending St. John's lead back up to five, 46-41. The Friars would get as close as three over the final frame before the Red Storm secured its fourth BIG EAST victory.

The Johnnies will return to action on Sunday afternoon when they welcome -/RV Creighton to Carnesecca Arena for a 2 p.m. meeting. The contest between the Red Storm and the Bluejays will be available to live stream on BEDN.