St. John’s Edges Providence on the Road, 53-50

Monday, February 27

Providence, R.I. (Alumni Hall)

7 P.M.

St. John's University

22-7,13-7Big East

Providence

13-18,4-16Big East

St. John's (NY)

Providence

2/27/2023 11:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Red Storm clinch the No. 4 seed in upcoming BIG EAST Tournament

PROVIDENCE, R.I.— The St. John's women's basketball team fended off a late push from Providence to record a 53-50 win in its regular season finale on Monday night.

St. John's closes the regular season with a stellar 22-7 record and a 13-7 mark in conference play, the squad's best since 2013-14.

The 22 regular season victories matches the highest the most for the Red Storm under Head Coach Joe Tartamella and the highest in regular season play since 2009-10.

With the win, St. John's clinches the No. 4 seed in this week's upcoming BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep. The Red Storm will take on fifth-seeded Marquette in the BIG EAST Quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. on FS2. This marks the sixth time in 11 years the Johnnies have finished fourth or better in the league under Tartamella.

Jayla Everett had a stellar night at Alumni Hall, pouring in a game-high 18 points and shot 4-for-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond-the-arc.

Kadaja Bailey added 15 points and eight rebounds on the evening. With a late free throw in the closing minute, Bailey moved into the top-10 all-time in scoring. The Long Island native surpassed Sabrina Johnson, who starred for St. John's from 1987-1990, and has now tallied 1,433 career points after tonight's win.

Rayven Peeples grabbed a game-high 12 boards, marking the 12^th game for the forward this season with 10 or more rebounds.

Unique Drake chipped in eight points and played a huge role down the stretch to capture the victory.

St. John's has held each of its last three opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the floor. The Friars shot just 37.5 percent from the floor on Monday night to complete the first season sweep of its conference foe since 2017.

In the early going, Bailey banked a 3-pointer in as the shot clock winded down to cap off a 10-2 run to open the game. The Friars responded with an 11-2 scoring stretch to end the opening frame and took a one-point lead, 13-12 into the second.

After the two sides went back-and-forth in the second quarter, St. John's spurred an 8-0 run in the closing minutes. On the final play of the first half, Everett knocked down a crucial mid-range jumper off of an in-bounds play to make it 28-21 heading into the locker room.

In the third frame, St. John's got off to a hot start, Everett nailed a 3-pointer followed by a mid-range make from Bailey that gave the Red Storm its largest lead of the night, 37-25. The Johnnies held Providence off the remainder of the quarter and went into the final 10 minutes with a nine-point advantage, 41-32.

In the final stanza, Providence (13-18, 4-16 BIG EAST) climbed back into the game on the heels of an 8-0 run and retook the lead, 44-43 with just under three minutes to play.

Unique Drake ended a scoring drought by getting a lay-up in traffic to fall and retake the lead, 45-44. On the ensuing possession, Drake stole the ball and took off for an easy fastbreak lay-in at the other end, a huge momentum swing for the Johnnies. As she has all year long, Everett made the big shot in crunch time, flushing her fourth 3-pointer of the night to put St. John's up six, 50-44.

A second-chance triple from Providence's Emily Archibald made it a one-point game, 51-50 with 10 seconds to go. After Bailey split from the line, Everett tapped the rebound off the floor and into the waiting hands of Bailey, who went back to the line and tacked on another free throw to make it a three-point game.

With 5.7 seconds remaining, Providence had a chance to tie down, 53-50, Brynn Farrell misfired a 3-point attempt that bounced off the top of the backboard and out of bounds. The Red Storm safely got the ball into play and let the clock run out to pick-up the road win.