St. John’s Fall to Villanova in BIG EAST Quarterfinals, 76-52

Saturday, March 5

UNCASVILLE, CONN. (MOHEGAN SUN ARENA)

7 P.M.

St. John's University

12-19,7-12Big East

Villanova

22-7,15-4Big East

St. John's (NY)

Villanova

St. John’s Fall to Villanova in BIG EAST Quarterfinals, 76-52

3/5/2022 10:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score POSTGAME QUOTES Box Score (PDF)

Kadaja Bailey scores 19 in loss to Wildcats

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – St. John's fell to Villanova, 76-52, in the BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinals at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday night.

The Red Storm (12-19) was led by Kadaja Bailey as she went 8-for-13 from the field, 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-3 from the foul line to score 19 for the Johnnies. Leilani Correa also posted double figures, scoring 15 while also recording six rebounds.

Correa got the Johnnie offense going, scoring the first five points for the Red Storm to have the team trail Villanova (22-7), 6-5, early in the game. The teams went back-and-forth, and a Bailey bucket cut the deficit to two at the media timeout. Following the break, the team's exchanged baskets, but five-straight by Villanova extended the deficit to seven with 2:25 remaining in the quarter. The Red Storm continued to battle, and with less than a minute on the clock, Bailey drained a three to put the team behind, 22-17, after 10 minutes.

Villanova outscored St. John's 8-2 to start the second quarter, forcing the Red Storm to burn a timeout, trailing, 30-19. Bailey scored on the first possession out of the break, but four consecutive points by the Wildcats put the Red Storm behind by 12 with 5:23 to play in the half. The teams continued to swap buckets, but an 8-0 run, with six of those points scored by Maddy Siegrist, left the Red Storm behind, 44-28, with 1:03 on the clock. Correa knocked down the final bucket of the half, but St. John's trailed Villanova, 44-30, as the teams went to the locker rooms.

The Wildcats scored the first four points of the third quarter, leading to a St. John's timeout with 6:13 on the clock. The offense came alive following the break with the Red Storm posting a 6-0 rally to put St. John's behind, 48-36, with 4:43 in the quarter. The Wildcats called a timeout of their own and followed the stoppage by scoring five-straight to leave the Johnnies behind by 17. The teams battled with Villanova scoring the final six points of the quarter to put St. John's behind, 62-41, with 10 minutes to play.

In the final frame, Bailey scored the first five points for the Johnnies, but the Red Storm trailed, 67-46, with 6:25 remaining. Behind by 20 at the media timeout, the Wildcats outscored the Johnnies 6-2 before Villanova used a timeout with 1:19 on the clock. Sara Zabrecky scored the final basket of the game for the Johnnies as St. John's dropped the contest to the Wildcats.

Siegrist led the Wildcats with 24 points. The BIG EAST Player of the Year went 10-for-19 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Brianna Herlihy posted a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Despite St. John's holding the 38-32 advantage in the paint, the Wildcats controlled the boards with the 41-31 rebounding edge.