St. John's University Athletics
Thursday, November 23
San Juan, P.R. (Coliseo Angulo)
5:30 p.m.
St. John's University
2-3,0-0Big East
51
vs
56
VCU
4-1,0-0Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
VCU
16
11
11
18
56
St. John's (NY)
11
14
6
20
51
St. John’s Falls to VCU, 56-51, on Thanksgiving Night
11/23/2023 8:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Ber’Nyah Mayo led all scorers with a season-high 20 points
SAN JUAN, P.R. – The St. John's women's basketball team battled VCU in a low-scoring affair on Thanksgiving night, but ultimately fell, 56-51.
The Red Storm pulled ahead for the first time midway through the finale frame but were outlasted in the closing minutes of its opening game at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic.
Ber'Nyah Mayo led all scorers with a season-high 20 points and 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. The Umass transfer scored 10 points in the final frame including the go-ahead bucket.
Unique Drake and Jillian Archer each chipped in nine points and Amber Brown finished with a season-high eight at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo.
For the third time in five games, the Johnnies forced their opponents into 20 or more turnovers. VCU turned it over 22 times and the Red Storm scored 25 points off the takeaways.
The Red Storm defense forced the Rams into difficult shots and held its opponent to just 39.9 shooting from the floor.
St. John's (2-3) cashed in on 17 total free throws matching a season-high.
VCU began the contest on a 10-0 run before a mid-range jumper by Mayo got the Red Storm on the board with a mid-range jumper that kickstarted a 7-0 spurt to tighten the game up. With 48 seconds left in the opening quarter, Brown finished a tough lay-in through contact to make it 13-11. VCU's leading scorer Sarah Te-Biasu sunk a triple with 0:33 to lead by five, 16-11, after one.
The contest remained defensive-minded in the following quarter. The Johnnies quickly cut the deficit to just a single-point after made lay-ups from Mayo and Archer. The Rams led for the entire stanza but never led by more than three points and went to the locker room with a narrow two-point advantage, 27-25.
At the start of the second half, Mayo tied it quickly with a hard drive to the tin and an impressive finish to knot the score at 27. The Red Storm defense continued to force takeaway and forced the Rams into seven in the third quarter. The contest remained close throughout the third with neither team finding a rhythm offensively. Te-Biasu splashed another 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give VCU (4-1) a seven-point edge heading into the final frame.
Drake started off the fourth quarter with an exclamation point earning an and-one on a drive to the rim. A fastbreak lay-in from Drake began a 7-0 scoring spurt for the Johnnies. The run ended with a big and-one from Mayo that propelled St. John's to its first lead of the game, 41-40.
The game remained within a possession before a pair of Rams' makes from the charity stripe made it 48-44. It was Mayo again with another crafty finish in the paint to trim the deficit back to two.
In the final 30 seconds, VCU capitalized from the free-throw line going 8-for-8 down the stretch to keep St. John's at a distance and pull out a win.
The Red Storm will be right at back it tomorrow at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic when it faces UCF at 3 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. local time.
The Red Storm pulled ahead for the first time midway through the finale frame but were outlasted in the closing minutes of its opening game at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic.
Ber'Nyah Mayo led all scorers with a season-high 20 points and 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. The Umass transfer scored 10 points in the final frame including the go-ahead bucket.
Unique Drake and Jillian Archer each chipped in nine points and Amber Brown finished with a season-high eight at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo.
For the third time in five games, the Johnnies forced their opponents into 20 or more turnovers. VCU turned it over 22 times and the Red Storm scored 25 points off the takeaways.
The Red Storm defense forced the Rams into difficult shots and held its opponent to just 39.9 shooting from the floor.
St. John's (2-3) cashed in on 17 total free throws matching a season-high.
VCU began the contest on a 10-0 run before a mid-range jumper by Mayo got the Red Storm on the board with a mid-range jumper that kickstarted a 7-0 spurt to tighten the game up. With 48 seconds left in the opening quarter, Brown finished a tough lay-in through contact to make it 13-11. VCU's leading scorer Sarah Te-Biasu sunk a triple with 0:33 to lead by five, 16-11, after one.
The contest remained defensive-minded in the following quarter. The Johnnies quickly cut the deficit to just a single-point after made lay-ups from Mayo and Archer. The Rams led for the entire stanza but never led by more than three points and went to the locker room with a narrow two-point advantage, 27-25.
At the start of the second half, Mayo tied it quickly with a hard drive to the tin and an impressive finish to knot the score at 27. The Red Storm defense continued to force takeaway and forced the Rams into seven in the third quarter. The contest remained close throughout the third with neither team finding a rhythm offensively. Te-Biasu splashed another 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give VCU (4-1) a seven-point edge heading into the final frame.
Drake started off the fourth quarter with an exclamation point earning an and-one on a drive to the rim. A fastbreak lay-in from Drake began a 7-0 scoring spurt for the Johnnies. The run ended with a big and-one from Mayo that propelled St. John's to its first lead of the game, 41-40.
The game remained within a possession before a pair of Rams' makes from the charity stripe made it 48-44. It was Mayo again with another crafty finish in the paint to trim the deficit back to two.
In the final 30 seconds, VCU capitalized from the free-throw line going 8-for-8 down the stretch to keep St. John's at a distance and pull out a win.
The Red Storm will be right at back it tomorrow at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic when it faces UCF at 3 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. local time.
Team Stats
VCU
SJU
FG%
.396
.378
3FG%
.300
.000
FT%
.882
.708
RB
38
24
TO
22
13
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballGuard
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