St. John’s Cruises Past Georgetown, 71-54

Friday, January 3

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

10-4,3-0Big East

Georgetown

4-10,1-2Big East

Georgetown

St. John's (NY)

1/3/2020 11:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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

Johnnies move to 3-0 in BIG EAST action and 6-0 at Carnesecca Arena

By: Victoria Lanza

The St. John's women's basketball team improved to 3-0 in BIG EAST action and 6-0 at Carnesecca Arena after downing Georgetown, 71-54, in Queens on Friday evening.

Off to the program's best start in conference play since the 2012-13 squad won three-straight to start league action, the Red Storm is one of just three unbeaten teams remaining in the BIG EAST. This St. John's (10-4, 3-0 BIG EAST) team is also off to its best start in Queens since the 2014-15 campaign, a season that saw the Johnnies go 7-0 at home to start the year.

Qadashah Hoppie led all scorers, pouring in 18 points against the Hoyas. The junior guard also dished out a trio of assists, while adding one steal to her name on the stat sheet.

Alisha Kebbe notched her first double-double of the season and the second of her career, tallying 14 points and tying a career high with 12 rebounds. The senior guard made six of her 10 tries from the floor, including a pair of shots from three-point range.

Alissa Alston rounded out double-digit scoring for the Johnnies, netting 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. The New Haven, Conn., native also finished the game with a team-high six assists, no turnovers and a steal.

Raven Farley turned in yet another solid performance on the glass for the Red Storm, pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.

St. John's won the battle of the boards, grabbing 44 rebounds to the Hoyas' 33. The Red Storm also registered fewer turnovers than its opponent for the 10th time this season and the fourth-straight game, coughing up just 10 possessions compared to Georgetown's (4-10, 1-2 BIG EAST) 18. The Johnnies turned those 18 miscues into 14 points and outscored Georgetown on second chance points by a 23-7 margin.

Neither team managed to generate much offense in the early going of the contest. Tiana England finally snapped the scoreless deadlock, pulling up in the paint to put the Red Storm on the board, 2-0. This kicked off a 9-4 run for the Red Storm, giving them an early lead midway through the first frame.

Georgetown continued to battle, cutting its deficit to two twice over the next four minutes. With her team's lead hanging in the balance and under a minute left to play in the first quarter, Kebbe went off. She knocked down the game's next five points on a shot from distance followed by a layup to put the Johnnies back on top by seven, 19-12, after 10 minutes of action.

Hoppie wasted no time building upon St. John's lead in the second quarter. The Staten Island native converted on a shot from distance to give the Red Storm its first double-digit lead of the game, 22-12.

The Hoyas began to chip away at the Johnnies' advantage, pulling the contest back within five, 25-20, with under six minutes to play in the half. The Johnnies would not let Georgetown get any closer as they used a 13-7 run over the final four minutes to take a 38-27 lead at the intermission.

Heading into the locker room, Hoppie paced the way for all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Kebbe and Farley were both a force on the glass for the Red Storm in the opening half, pulling down six boards apiece in 20 minutes of action.

After trading blows to begin the third quarter, St. John's advantage ballooned to 17 thanks to an 11-4 run that put the Johnnies up, 38-55, after 30 minutes of action. Kebbe sparked that spurt with a drive to the glass.

Kebbe fired away from distance to kick off the final frame. The senior's triple extended the Johnnies' lead to 20, 58-38. The Hoyas followed with five unanswered points, cutting their deficit back down to 15, 58-43. That was as close as the visiting team would get as St. John's secured the win.

The Red Storm will return to action on Sunday afternoon when the team welcomes Villanova to Carnesecca Arena for a 2 p.m. contest. The matchup between the Johnnies and the Wildcats will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.