St. John’s Knocks Off No. 13/14 Creighton, 66-62

Sunday, December 4

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

2 P.M.

St. John's University

8-0,2-0Big East

No. 13/14 Creighton

7-1,2-1Big East

Creighton

St. John's (NY)

12/4/2022 6:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Quotes Gallery Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

Creighton was the highest-ranked opponent the Red Storm have beaten since no. 8/7 Marquette on Feb. 15, 2019

By: Kevin Wehner

QUEENS, N.Y.- The St. John's women's basketball team fended off a late-game 7-0 run to earn a marquee victory over no. 13/14 Creighton, 66-62, on Sunday afternoon in Queens.

The victory marked the highest rated win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 15, 2019, when it defeated no. 8/7 Marquette, 81-74. The Red Storm move to 8-0 for just the fourth-time in program history and are off to a 2-0 start in BIG EAST play.

In an outstanding effort, Jayla Everett went off for a season-high 20 points against the nationally-ranked Bluejays inside Carnesecca Arena.

Kadaja Bailey proved clutch down the stretch, as she sunk three free-throws and came up with a crucial steal in the final eight seconds of the game. The redshirt senior finished with 13 points and three steals.

Rayven Peeples continued to anchor the rebounding effort, recording her fifth game with 10 or more rebounds. The forward racked up 11 boards and added nine points on Sunday.

As play commenced in Queens, Creighton jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. The Red Storm responded shortly after with an 11-0 scoring run, capped off by a triple from Bailey with 4:35 left in the first quarter to make it, 13-8. A 9-0 run over 2:03 heading into the second quarter to push the advantage to double-digits, 25-14.

As the second frame carried on, Unique Drake finished a lay-up in traffic and sunk the free-throw to make it 31-20 with 7:01 remaining in the half. The senior guard provided a sizeable boost off the bench with a season-high 13 points. Late in the second quarter, Peeples grabbed a board and went up strong for a made lay-in to give the Red Storm its largest lead, 39-24, with 1:30 left in the half. The Johnnies led Creighton (7-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) at the break.

In the third stanza, the sharpshooting Bluejays began to find their stroke engineering a 6-0 run to climb back into the game. A Creighton three-pointer from Kennedy Townsend shrunk the Red Storm lead back to single digits, 47-38, with 3:29 left in the quarter. A pair of Johnnies guards Drake and Mimi Reid finished tough lay-ups to keep the visitors at bay. A made jumper by Bluejays Lauren Jensen cut it to seven, 51-44, heading into the fourth frame.

In the final quarter, the Bluejays continued to stay in the game and chip away at the deficit. As the two sides traded baskets, it was Everett that consistently responded with three made jump shots in the opening two minutes of the quarter.

With 1:27 left to play, the Bluejays' Emma Ronsiek buried a long three-pointer to cut the lead to, 61-59. On the ensuing St. John's possession, Peeples collected an offensive board to allow the clock to tick away, bleeding it down to 0:34 remaining. As it has all season long, the Johnnies on-ball defense prevailed forcing a missed jumper by the Bluejays leading scorer Lauren Jensen, who finished with a game-high 21 points. Everett grabbed the ensuing rebound and made a pair of free throws at the other end to make it a two-possession game, 63-59. Bailey came up with a pivotal steal with :08 left on the clock and secured a crucial victory at Carnesecca Arena.

The undefeated Red Storm will return to non-conference action after a pair of conference wins this weekend. The Johnnies welcome Iona to Carnesecca Arena on Dec. 8.