St. John’s Holds Off Creighton, 77-70

Friday, February 14

Omaha, Neb. (D.J. Sokol Arena)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

15-10, 8-6BE

Creighton

15-9, 7-6BE

St. John's (NY)

Creighton

2/14/2020 10:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

St. John’s completes regular season sweep of Creighton

By: Victoria Lanza

Four Johnnies finish in double figures on Friday night in Omaha, Neb., as the St. John's women's basketball team completed a regular season sweep of Creighton, 77-70, at D.J. Sokol Arena.

Alissa Alston led the way for the Red Storm, finishing with a team-high 16 points in just 23 minutes of action. The redshirt senior knocked down five of her eight attempts from the floor and converted on five of her six tries from the charity stripe.

Qadashah Hoppie netted 15 points on a 6-of-12 shooting from the floor, including a 3-for-6 showing from three-point range.

Alisha Kebbe turned in her third double-double of the season, chipping in 13 points to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Leilani Correa and Tiana England both finished just shy of a double-double, as Correa recorded 10 points and nine rebounds while England registered nine points and a team-high nine assists.

The Johnnies defense locked in, holding Creighton's leading scorer Jaylyn Agnew to just seven points in 37 minutes of action.

Neither team managed to generate much offense in the early going of the contest, as Creighton snapped the scoring drought at the 8:29 mark. The two teams traded blows over the next few minutes with St. John's (15-10, 8-6 BIG EAST) leading, 13-12, midway through the first quarter.

Following a stretch of back-and-forth basketball, the Red Storm took off on a 10-2 run to pull ahead by seven, 23-16, after 10 minutes of action.

After netting eight points in the first frame, Hoppie used her hot hand to sink the opening basket of the second quarter and give St. John's a nine-point advantage, 26-16. Creighton (15-9, 7-6 BIG EAST) responded with back-to-back treys, cutting its deficit down to three, 25-22, two minutes in.

That lit a fire within for the Johnnies as they sank seven unanswered points to take a double-digit lead, 32-22, with just under six minutes to play before the intermission.

Creighton continued to chip away at the Johnnies' advantage, pulling the score within five twice over the next two minutes. That was as close as the home team would get, as St. John's outscored the Bluejays, 13-6, to lead, 47-35, after 20 minutes of action.

Hoppie led the way for the Johnnies at the break with 13 points, knocking down five of her nine attempts from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers. Correa entered the locker room with 10 points and six boards.

The offensive surge continued for the Johnnies in the second quarter, as Alston pulled up on a jumper to kick start an 8-2 run and give the Red Storm an 18-point lead, 55-37.

The Bluejays were not backing down that easy, using an 8-2 run of their own to get back within 12, 57-45, at the seven minute mark.

The two teams traded buckets over the remainder of the half with the Johnnies leading by 13, 65-52, after 30 minutes of action. The third quarter was an Alston show as the redshirt senior sank 12 points in an eight-minute span.

Creighton started the final frame with an 15-2 run, trimming St. John's lead down to two, 69-67, with under six minutes to play in regulation.

That was as close as the Bluejays would get, as St. John's outscored the home team, 8-3, down the stretch to cement the victory.

St. John's will return to action on Sunday when the Johnnies wrap up their two-game road swing at Providence. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).