St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, December 16
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
6 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Villanova
St. John’s Opens BIG EAST Play Against Villanova at Madison Square Garden
12/15/2023 12:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Red Storm will play in final leg of MSG’s Holiday Festival tripleheader
QUEENS, N.Y.- For the first time since 2019, the St. John's women's basketball program will play inside Madison Square Garden in its BIG EAST opener against Villanova at 6 p.m.
The Red Storm are the third and final leg of the Holiday Festival tripleheader at "The World's Most Famous Arena". Penn State and Georgia Tech will tip-off at noon, while the St. John's men and Fordham will faceoff at 3:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets for all three games of the Holiday Festival click here. St. John's Holiday Festival ugly sweater themed t-shirts will be distributed to fans while supplies last.
The contest from Midtown Manhattan will be streamed on FloSports with Drew Casey and Kevin Connelly.
The women's basketball program will play its 17th-ever game on the hallowed hardwood of "The Mecca" and its first since it faced it DePaul on Feb. 17, 2019. St. John's holds a 9-7 overall record at MSG. The Red Storm women's program played its first-ever contest at The Garden nearly 20 years ago in 2004. The second contest at the iconic venue occurred on Jan. 21, 2006 when it faced Saturday's opponent in Villanova. The Johnnies pulled out a 65-55 win over the Wildcats.
Head Coach Joe Tartamella was a graduate assistant and assistant coach during the program's early games at The Garden and has been one the sidelines of all 16 contests. Tartamella owns a 3-2 record as a head coach in the building.
Last time out, the Johnnies improved to 4-1 at home after a 55-44 triumph over Rhode Island on Sunday. With the score knotted at halftime and the conclusion of the third quarter, St. John's revved up the scoring production in the final quarter pouring in 23 points en route to a double-digit victory.
Unique Drake led all scorers once again tallying 16 points and drilling four 3-pointers in the winning effort. This marked the fourth time this season that the veteran has made four or more triples in a game. The reigning BIG EAST Sixth-Woman of the Year ranks ninth in the country with 34 makes from beyond-the-arc shooting at a 47.9 percent clip.
Skye Owen registered a career-high 14 points marking her third double-digit scoring outing in her last four games. The speedy sophomore is averaging 7.1 points per game on the year and ranks top-five in the league averaging 2.1 steals per game.
The Red Storm defense is holding opponents to just 55.5 points per game, which ranks top-3 in the BIG EAST and top-50 in NCAA Division I and no team has tallied more than 70. In its five wins, St. John's opponents are averaging 44.8 points per game.
St. John's will begin its 18-game BIG EAST slate on Saturday afternoon after finishing fourth in the conference in 2022-23. The Red Storm have enjoyed success in recent years in its initial conference battle winning three of the last four.
Villanova heads to The Garden with a 6-4 mark on the year and most recently narrowly fell to Princeton, 61-59, at home.
Lucy Olsen leads the Wildcats and the league in scoring pouring in 24.5 points per outing. The guard has eclipsed the 30-point mark four times, including a 40-point performance against Temple earlier this year. The All-BIG EAST Second Team selection ranks third in nation in scoring.
Post presence Christina Dalce leads the country in offensive rebounds averaging 6.5 per game and ranks fourth in rebounds per game averaging 12.0.
The two league foes will square off for the 77th meeting over their 42-year long series, Villanova leads, 48-28. The Red Storm have compiled a 16-16 record against the Wildcats at home and will look to snap a nine-game skid against Villanova.
The Red Storm are the third and final leg of the Holiday Festival tripleheader at "The World's Most Famous Arena". Penn State and Georgia Tech will tip-off at noon, while the St. John's men and Fordham will faceoff at 3:30 p.m.
To purchase tickets for all three games of the Holiday Festival click here. St. John's Holiday Festival ugly sweater themed t-shirts will be distributed to fans while supplies last.
The contest from Midtown Manhattan will be streamed on FloSports with Drew Casey and Kevin Connelly.
The women's basketball program will play its 17th-ever game on the hallowed hardwood of "The Mecca" and its first since it faced it DePaul on Feb. 17, 2019. St. John's holds a 9-7 overall record at MSG. The Red Storm women's program played its first-ever contest at The Garden nearly 20 years ago in 2004. The second contest at the iconic venue occurred on Jan. 21, 2006 when it faced Saturday's opponent in Villanova. The Johnnies pulled out a 65-55 win over the Wildcats.
Head Coach Joe Tartamella was a graduate assistant and assistant coach during the program's early games at The Garden and has been one the sidelines of all 16 contests. Tartamella owns a 3-2 record as a head coach in the building.
Last time out, the Johnnies improved to 4-1 at home after a 55-44 triumph over Rhode Island on Sunday. With the score knotted at halftime and the conclusion of the third quarter, St. John's revved up the scoring production in the final quarter pouring in 23 points en route to a double-digit victory.
Unique Drake led all scorers once again tallying 16 points and drilling four 3-pointers in the winning effort. This marked the fourth time this season that the veteran has made four or more triples in a game. The reigning BIG EAST Sixth-Woman of the Year ranks ninth in the country with 34 makes from beyond-the-arc shooting at a 47.9 percent clip.
Skye Owen registered a career-high 14 points marking her third double-digit scoring outing in her last four games. The speedy sophomore is averaging 7.1 points per game on the year and ranks top-five in the league averaging 2.1 steals per game.
The Red Storm defense is holding opponents to just 55.5 points per game, which ranks top-3 in the BIG EAST and top-50 in NCAA Division I and no team has tallied more than 70. In its five wins, St. John's opponents are averaging 44.8 points per game.
St. John's will begin its 18-game BIG EAST slate on Saturday afternoon after finishing fourth in the conference in 2022-23. The Red Storm have enjoyed success in recent years in its initial conference battle winning three of the last four.
Villanova heads to The Garden with a 6-4 mark on the year and most recently narrowly fell to Princeton, 61-59, at home.
Lucy Olsen leads the Wildcats and the league in scoring pouring in 24.5 points per outing. The guard has eclipsed the 30-point mark four times, including a 40-point performance against Temple earlier this year. The All-BIG EAST Second Team selection ranks third in nation in scoring.
Post presence Christina Dalce leads the country in offensive rebounds averaging 6.5 per game and ranks fourth in rebounds per game averaging 12.0.
The two league foes will square off for the 77th meeting over their 42-year long series, Villanova leads, 48-28. The Red Storm have compiled a 16-16 record against the Wildcats at home and will look to snap a nine-game skid against Villanova.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
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