St. John's Falls to Marquette, 78-55, in BIG EAST Semifinals

Sunday, March 8

Chicago, Ill. (Wintrust Arena)

8:30 p.m. ET

St. John's University

19-12,11-7Big East

No. 2 Marquette

24-7,13-5Big East

St. John's (NY)

Marquette

St. John's Falls to Marquette, 78-55, in BIG EAST Semifinals

3/8/2020 11:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Leilani Correa leads the way for the Johnnies with 13 points

By: Victoria Lanza

The St. John's women's basketball team saw its bid for a conference championship end on Sunday night as Marquette defeated the Red Storm, 78-55, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament at Wintrust Arena.

Leilani Correa led the way for St. John's with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor. The rookie guard also recorded three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.

The Red Storm's regular season leading scorer Qadashah Hoppie, chipped in 12 points against the Golden Eagles.

Tiana England, who paces the Johnnies in assists, dished out a team-high five dimes. England also recorded 11 points on a 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, converting on her lone shot from distance.

Alisha Kebbe registered seven points and seven rebounds for St. John's, while Raven Farley finished with a team-high nine caroms to go along with six points.

Despite falling to the Golden Eagles, the Red Storm won the turnover battle convincingly, forcing 13 Marquette miscues while surrendering just seven of its own. The Johnnies coughed up just one possession in the first 20 minutes of action.

Marquette jumped out to a sizeable lead in the early going, making six of its first 12 field goal attempts to grab a 16-6 lead at the media timeout.

St. John's began to chip away at Marquette's early advantage down the stretch of the first period, trimming its deficit down to eight, 20-12, after the opening frame.

Hoppie made a drive to the basket in early seconds of the second stanza, knocking Marquette's lead down to six, 20-14. The Golden Eagles responded by unleashing seven unanswered points to grow its advantage back to double-digits, 29-16, with just under seven minutes remaining in the half.

The Red Storm continued to battle over the final minutes of the opening half. With Marquette leading by 13, 33-20, the Red Storm took off on a 10-2 run, making it a five-point game, 35-30, at the intermission. Correa capped off the Johnnies' second-quarter streak with a buzzer-beating three.

Despite trailing at the intermission, the Red Storm managed to only turn the ball over once in the first 20 minutes of action. Correa paced the way offensively for St. John's at the break, draining nine points on 3-of-6 shooting from the floor.

Marquette fired off an 8-2 run out of the locker room to extend its advantage to 11, 43-32, at the 7:45 mark. The Johnnies then used a 5-2 run to whittle their deficit down to eight, 45-37.

Marquette, however, responded with an 11-4 tear to restore its lead back up to double-digits, 56-41, after 30 minutes of action.

The Golden Eagles outscored the Red Storm, 6-2, in the opening minutes of the final frame, ballooning their lead to 19, 62-43. The Johnnies made one final push, firing off eight unanswered points before Marquette used a 16-4 run over the final seven minutes to advance to the conference championship.