St. John’s Falls to Penn State, 80-75

Friday, November 26

Estero, Fla. (Hertz Arena)

7:30 PM

St. John's University

3-2,0-0Big East

Penn State

4-1,0-0Big Ten

St. John's (NY)

Penn St.

11/26/2021 9:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Correa drains a game-high 27 points in Johnnies’ setback

Despite a game-high 27 points from junior guard Leilani Correa, the St. John's women's basketball team fell to Penn State, 80-75, on Friday night at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla.

Correa converted on 10 of her 18 attempts from the floor, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. The Manchester, N.J., native also pulled down eight rebounds on the evening.

Danielle Patterson notched a career-high 15 points on the night. The Brooklyn product finished just shy of a double-double, pulling down a team-best nine boards.

Unique Drake rounded out the Johnnies who finished in double figures with 13 points. Kadaja Bailey chipped in nine points to go along with six rebounds and a team-high five assists.

The Lady Lions went 4-for-6 from the floor in the first four minutes of action to lead, 10-5, at the first media timeout. Coming out of the huddle, Penn State continued to control the momentum over the next few minutes taking a 12-point lead, 22-10. With under two minutes to play in the opening stanza, St. John's fired off a 10-2 run to get back within four, 24-20, after 10 minutes of action. Correa capped off the Johnnies' late run with a last second three-pointer to pull the Red Storm within four, 24-20.

Correa opened up the second frame just like she ended the first, with a shot from downtown to make it a one-point game, 24-23. The Lady Lions responded with a layup to take a three-point advantage, 26-23, their final lead of the half.

The Red Storm used a 13-1 run over the next four minutes to take over, 36-27. Penn State managed to make it a one possession game, 36-34, in the final seconds of the half before Drake drained a buzzer-beating triple to give St. John's a 39-34 edge at the intermission.

Correa led the way for St. John's after 20 minutes of action, pouring in 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-8 mark from distance.

The Lady Lions opened up the third period on a 15-2 run to regain the lead, 49-41, with four minutes to play. The Johnnies began to chip away at the Lady Lions' lead, as Correa rattled off a 5-0 run to cut St. John's deficit down to two, 53-51. Penn State's Marisa Makenna converted on back-to-back buckets over the last 1:13 to build the Lady Lions' edge back up to six, 57-51, after 30 minutes of play.

St. John's opened up the final frame on a 10-4 run to knot the score at 61-61 with seven minutes to play in regulation. The two squads continued to battle back-and-forth, as the next few minutes saw two ties and four lead changes. With 4:17 on the clock, Penn State outscored the Red Storm, 14-8, to lock in the victory.

The Red Storm will return to action tomorrow when the Johnnies take on Charlotte at Hertz Arena. Tipoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. on FloSports.