Johnnies Fall in Overtime, 66-64, at Villanova

Friday, January 31

Villanova, Pa. (Finneran Pavilion)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

13-8,6-4Big East

Villanova

12-9,6-4Big East

OT 1

St. John's (NY)

Villanova

1/31/2020 10:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Alissa Alston paced the way for the Red Storm with a season-high 21 points

By: Victoria Lanza

For the second time this season, the St. John's women's basketball team came up short in overtime against Villanova, falling, 66-64, to the Wildcats on Friday evening at Finneran Pavilion.

Leading by five with under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Johnnies (13-8, 6-4 BIG EAST) saw Villanova erase its deficit with a 5-0 spurt. The Wildcats (12-9, 6-4 BIG EAST) regained the lead in the first 15 seconds of overtime and never looked back, outscoring the Red Storm, 10-8, in the extra stanza to pull away at home.

Alissa Alston turned in yet another complete performance for St. John's tallying a season-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor. The redshirt senior also recorded five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Alisha Kebbe registered her second double-double of the season and the third of her Red Storm career with 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds on the evening.

Qadashah Hoppie chipped in 10 points for the Red Storm with six of those coming during overtime.

Kadaja Bailey finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and seven rebounds.

Despite the loss, St. John's saw its best rebounding effort of the season, pulling down 50 rebounds to the Wildcats' 36.

The two teams traded buckets in the early going of the contest with Villanova leading, 12-11, midway through the opening stanza.

The Wildcats took off on a 10-0 run over the final four minutes, extending their lead to nine, 21-12, at the conclusion of the opening quarter. Villanova saw six of its final 10 points come from the charity stripe.

After struggling to generate much offense down the stretch of the first frame, Hoppie finally snapped the Red Storm's scoring drought in the opening seconds of the second period. The junior guard converted on a Villanova turnover, which jumpstarted an 8-2 run for the Red Storm.

With just over five minutes to play in the half and the Johnnies trailing, 23-20, Villanova's leading scorers Mary Gedaka and Madison Siegrist combined for five unanswered points, extending the Wildcats lead to eight, 28-20.

Both teams locked in defensively, holding each other without a point over the next three minutes. With two minutes on the clock, Unique Drake drove and drew a foul on Siegrist. The freshman guard converted on one of her two attempts from the line, cutting the Johnnies deficit to seven, 28-21.

With over a minute to play in the half, the two programs exchanged a bucket each as Villanova led, 30-23, at the break.

Kebbe and Alston paced the way for the Johnnies at the intermission with six points each. Kebbe also grabbed a team-high six rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action.

The two teams came out of the locker room firing, trading blows back-and-forth with Villanova leading by six, 40-34.

The Johnnies did not back down, rattling off a 13-3 run over the final minutes to regain the lead, 47-43, entering the fourth frame. Alston kicked off the Red Storm's third quarter surge with a personal 5-0 run of her own to pull St. John's within one, 40-39. Kebbe then drove the lane for a basket, putting St. John's on top, 41-40. England and Farley also contributed to the Red Storm's run.

Alston continued to build upon the Johnnies' offensive output, finishing under the basket in the early seconds of the fourth quarter, extending the Johnnies' lead to six, 49-43.

The Wildcats continued to battle, as the two teams traded buckets before Villanova used a 5-0 run over the final two minutes to tie the game at 56 and force extra time.

Villanova jumped out to an early lead in the extra period before outscoring the Johnnies, 10-8, to seal the victory at home.

The Johnnies will conclude their three-game road swing on Sunday afternoon with a trip to our nation's capital for a showdown with the Georgetown Hoyas at McDonough Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. on BEDN.