No. 14/14 DePaul Completes Comeback, Tops St. John’s, 71-65

Friday, February 7

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7:00 p.m.

St. John's University

14-9,7-5Big East

No. 14/14 DePaul

21-3,11-1Big East

DePaul

St. John's (NY)

No. 14/14 DePaul Completes Comeback, Tops St. John’s, 71-65

2/7/2020 10:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)POSTGAME QUOTES: St. John’s vs. No. 14/14 DePaul

Hoppie records a career-high 27 points in Red Storm setback

By: Victoria Lanza

After leading by as many as 16 in the third quarter, St. John's saw its advantage dwindle as DePaul netted 31 points in the final frame to complete the comeback, 71-65, and secure the regular season-sweep.

Qadashah Hoppie was a bright spot in the Johnnies' setback to DePaul as she netted a career-high 27 points on 8-of-17 showing from the floor. The junior guard also knocked down a career-best seven treys while converting on all four of her attempts from the free-throw line.

Alissa Alston finished in double figures for the ninth time in 10 games, recording 16 points against the nationally ranked Blue Demons.

Leilani Correa registered the first double-double of her Red Storm career, chipping in 11 points while tying Kadaja Bailey with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Despite the loss, St. John's (14-9, 7-5 BIG EAST) managed to hold the Blue Demons, who lead the BIG EAST in scoring, to a 32 percent shooting clip from the floor, their lowest of the season.

DePaul (21-3, 11-1 BIG EAST) got the scoring started, jumping out to a 7-2 run to take an early five-point lead. Over the next few minutes, St. John's began to chip away at the visiting team's edge, pulling the contest within two, 9-7, midway through the first quarter.

With under five minutes to play in the opening stanza, DePaul took off on a 5-0 run, building its lead back up to seven, 14-7, at the 3:39 mark. The Johnnies did not back down, as Alston, Correa and Hoppie pieced together an 8-0 run to give the Red Storm its first lead of the evening, 15-14, after 10 minutes of action.

The Johnnies extended their run to 12-0 in the early minutes of the second quarter, building their lead up to five, 19-14. DePaul's Sonya Morris snapped St. John's offensive streak with a jumper to trim home team's advantage down to three, 19-16.
After 20 minutes of action, Hoppie led the way for the Johnnies with 14 points on a 5-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a 4-for-6 showing from distance.

After both teams went without a point for nearly two minutes to start the third quarter, Hoppie finally snapped the scoreless drought, hitting a shot from distance to give the Johnnies their first double-digit lead of the game, 38-28. This started a 9-1 run for the Red Storm as the home team built its lead up to 15, 44-29.

DePaul netted four points to pull the contest within 11, 44-33, before the Johnnies made a 5-0 push to balloon its advantage to 16, 49-33, with four minutes remaining.

The Blue Demons unleashed seven unanswered points over the final two minutes, trimming its deficit down to nine, 49-40, at the end of the third quarter.

The two teams traded blows in the early going of the fourth frame before DePaul made a 10-0 run to get back within two, 56-54, with just under five minutes to play in regulation.

The Blue Demons went on to outscore the Johnnies, 17-9, down the stretch, securing the season sweep.

St. John's will return to action on Sunday when the team welcomes Marquette to Carnesecca Arena for a 2 p.m. showdown on the BIG EAST Digital Network (BEDN).