St. John’s Travels to Fairfield for Thursday Night Contest

Thursday, December 7

Fairfield, Conn. (Leo D. Mahoney Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

Fairfield

St. John’s Travels to Fairfield for Thursday Night Contest

12/6/2023 2:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch Live Stats Game Notes (PDF)

Red Storm will visit the Stags for the first time in 25 years

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's women's basketball team will carry a two-game winning streak into a Thursday night contest at Fairfield.

The Red Storm and Stags will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday night from Leo D. Mahoney Arena. JJ Duke and Kate Abromovitch will have the call on ESPN+.

The Red Storm won both its contests last week tallying a wire-to-wire decisive victory over Loyola Maryland, 71-49, before outlasting Marist on the road, 50-40.

Last time out, the Johnnies grinded out a road win in a low-scoring affair in Poughkeepsie. The defense held Marist to just 40 points, the lowest scoring total by a Red Storm opponent since last year's season opener against Monmouth on Nov. 7, when it allowed 39. The Johnnies forced the Red Foxes into 21 turnovers.

The scoring defense ranks top-50 in the country as St. John's is allowing just 55.6 points per game. In its four wins, the squad has yet to allow more than 49 points and is holding the opposition to just 45.0 points per game and 36.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Unique Drake continues to lead the charge offensively and has led all scorers in seven of St. John's nine games this season. The redshirt senior is averaging 19.7 points per game, which ranks third in the BIG EAST. In a 19-point performance at Marist, the guard became the 29^th player in program history to exceed the 1,000 career point mark.

Drake nailed another two triples on Saturday and is up to 28 on the season, which sits tied for ninth most in the country. The veteran is shooting 48.7 percent from 3-point range and tied the program record with 7 triples in a 30-point performance against Manhattan on Nov. 19. The Columbia, S.C., native was tabbed to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Player of the Week Honorable Mention.

In her first two collegiate starts, Skye Owen finished both outings in double-figures. On Wednesday at home she dished out six assists before recording a career-best five steals in the first 15 minutes of action at McCann Arena in Poughkeepsie.

Phoenix Gedeon pulled down a season-high 12 boards against Marist, matching Jillian Archer for the highest rebounding total by a Red Storm player this season.

The Red Storm will cross state lines and take on Stags in Fairfield for the first time in 25 years. The two programs will meet for the 15^th time dating back to 1976 and St. John's leads the all-time series, 12-2.

In the last meeting on Dec. 20, 2019, Head Coach Joe Tartamella earned his milestone 150^th career victory during a 71-69 win in overtime at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm forced the Stags into 26 turnovers and recorded 16 steals during the thrilling victory in Queens.

After the win over Marist, Tartamella and the Johnnies extend their winning streak against the MAAC to 12 games.

Fairfield enters the matchup with a 5-1 overall record and a resume that includes a win over Rutgers and its largest margin of victory in program history defeating Lehman, 101-14, on opening night.

The Stags rank top-10 nationally in 3-pointers made per game (9.7) and defending from long-range holding opponents to 22 percent from beyond-the-arc. Janelle Brown leads Fairfield averaging 16.8 points per game on 74.5 percent shooting from the floor (38-51), which ranks second in the country.

Following the conclusion of the two-game road stint, the Red Storm will be back in action against Rhode Island on Sunday afternoon for 2 p.m. start from Carnesecca Arena.