St. John's University Athletics

St. John’s Prevails in Double Overtime Stunner at DePaul, 83-77
1/25/2024 11:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Unique Drake went for 36 points, the most by a St. John’s player since 1995
CHICAGO – The St. John's women's basketball team emerged in a nail-biting double-overtime thriller in an 83-77 triumph over DePaul.
Unique Drake exploded for 36 points, which is the most by a St. John's player since 1995, and ties Tawana Jackson (Jan. 25 & Feb. 1, 1995) and Debbie Beckford (Feb. 9, 1983) for the third-most points in a single game in program history. The redshirt senior made a career-high 12 field goals, sunk six triples in 48 minutes.
St. John's earned its first win in a double-overtime contest in just the sixth in program history and the first since Dec. 12, 2017. Thursday marked the Johnnies first double overtime BIG EAST game since it fell to Rutgers on Jan. 23, 2003.
Drake moved into the top-20 all-time scoring list after sinking her first 3-pointer of the night. The guard achieved yet another accolade making her 135th appearance in a St. John's uniform, which ranks second all-time surpassing former point guard and Director of Recruiting Aaliyah Lewis.
Jillian Archer dominated defensively tallying her sixth double-double of the season finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The graduate student also matched her career-high in blocks for the fourth time in the last seven games.
Ber'Nyah Mayo finished in double-figures for the fifth-straight game tallying 10 points while chipping in a season-high seven boards and six assists.
Phoenix Gedeon and Tara Daye each collected nine rebounds as the Johnnies dominated the glass, 58-45.
The Red Storm finished with 58 total rebounds, the program's most since it pulled 62 against Marquette on Feb. 13, 2015.
Daye started the scoring by sinking a long two-point jumper on the Johnnies opening possession. The Red Storm went on a 6-0 run after back-to-back 3-pointers from Mayo and Drake to jump out a 10-4 advantage. The Johnnies shot 3-for-5 from downtown in the opening frame and carried a five-point edge, 18-13.
In the second, Jailah Donald drilled a 3-pointer just 13 seconds in to expand the lead to eight, 21-13. Drake made a move to create separation and sunk a step-back triple from the corner to spring a double-digit cushion, 29-19. A second chance putback by Archer gave the Red Storm its largest lead of the game heading into the locker room, 37-25.
In the penultimate quarter, DePaul began to climb back into the contest before Drake's third triple jumped the lead back up to double-digits, 42-31. The Blue Demons ended the frame on a 14-7 run to cut it to a four-point game, 45-41, going into the final 10 minutes.
After a Daye free throw opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, DePaul surged with an 8-0 run and took its first lead of the evening with 8:38 to play. After the Blue Demons built a 3-point edge, 53-50, Archer finished in the paint to bring the run to a halt. As the two teams continued to battle, the Red Storm finally took control of the lead after Donald made a pair from the charity stripe to make it 59-58. With five seconds left in regulation and St. John's leading by two, Anaya Peoples sunk two from the charity stripe to knot the score at 60. The Johnnies regained possession with an opportunity to win the game but turned it over and the potential game-winning heave from Peoples was off the mark.
The Red Storm went to overtime for the second consecutive game for the first time since Dec. 12 & 18, 2017 against Fordham and Kansas.
In the first overtime, Drake took over as she responded in a big way to a DePaul basket by nailing a 3-pointer. The next possession Drake finished through contact at the rim and then drilled her sixth 3-pointer of the tilt to give the Johnnies a four-point lead, 68-64, with 2 minutes to play. Peoples took over and led the Blue Demons back sinking another pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to tie the score at 71, the ninth and final tie of the game. Drake scored 10 of St. John's 11 points in the first overtime.
In the second overtime, DePaul once again jumped in front before Mayo knocked down a pair from the line. Drake got an acrobatic finish to go to break the tie and then hit a mid-range jumper to propel ahead once again. After a pivotal finish at the rim from Mayo to make it 79-75 with 1:29 to play. Drake capitalized from the foul line knocking down four in the final 30 seconds to claim an 83-77 victory and one of the most impressive scoring performances in St. John's history.
St. John's won its third-straight game against DePaul which is the longest-ever streak in the 26-game series that dates back to 2006.
The Red Storm will return home after a two-game road stint to face Georgetown on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest.
Unique Drake exploded for 36 points, which is the most by a St. John's player since 1995, and ties Tawana Jackson (Jan. 25 & Feb. 1, 1995) and Debbie Beckford (Feb. 9, 1983) for the third-most points in a single game in program history. The redshirt senior made a career-high 12 field goals, sunk six triples in 48 minutes.
St. John's earned its first win in a double-overtime contest in just the sixth in program history and the first since Dec. 12, 2017. Thursday marked the Johnnies first double overtime BIG EAST game since it fell to Rutgers on Jan. 23, 2003.
Drake moved into the top-20 all-time scoring list after sinking her first 3-pointer of the night. The guard achieved yet another accolade making her 135th appearance in a St. John's uniform, which ranks second all-time surpassing former point guard and Director of Recruiting Aaliyah Lewis.
Jillian Archer dominated defensively tallying her sixth double-double of the season finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The graduate student also matched her career-high in blocks for the fourth time in the last seven games.
Ber'Nyah Mayo finished in double-figures for the fifth-straight game tallying 10 points while chipping in a season-high seven boards and six assists.
Phoenix Gedeon and Tara Daye each collected nine rebounds as the Johnnies dominated the glass, 58-45.
The Red Storm finished with 58 total rebounds, the program's most since it pulled 62 against Marquette on Feb. 13, 2015.
Daye started the scoring by sinking a long two-point jumper on the Johnnies opening possession. The Red Storm went on a 6-0 run after back-to-back 3-pointers from Mayo and Drake to jump out a 10-4 advantage. The Johnnies shot 3-for-5 from downtown in the opening frame and carried a five-point edge, 18-13.
In the second, Jailah Donald drilled a 3-pointer just 13 seconds in to expand the lead to eight, 21-13. Drake made a move to create separation and sunk a step-back triple from the corner to spring a double-digit cushion, 29-19. A second chance putback by Archer gave the Red Storm its largest lead of the game heading into the locker room, 37-25.
In the penultimate quarter, DePaul began to climb back into the contest before Drake's third triple jumped the lead back up to double-digits, 42-31. The Blue Demons ended the frame on a 14-7 run to cut it to a four-point game, 45-41, going into the final 10 minutes.
After a Daye free throw opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, DePaul surged with an 8-0 run and took its first lead of the evening with 8:38 to play. After the Blue Demons built a 3-point edge, 53-50, Archer finished in the paint to bring the run to a halt. As the two teams continued to battle, the Red Storm finally took control of the lead after Donald made a pair from the charity stripe to make it 59-58. With five seconds left in regulation and St. John's leading by two, Anaya Peoples sunk two from the charity stripe to knot the score at 60. The Johnnies regained possession with an opportunity to win the game but turned it over and the potential game-winning heave from Peoples was off the mark.
The Red Storm went to overtime for the second consecutive game for the first time since Dec. 12 & 18, 2017 against Fordham and Kansas.
In the first overtime, Drake took over as she responded in a big way to a DePaul basket by nailing a 3-pointer. The next possession Drake finished through contact at the rim and then drilled her sixth 3-pointer of the tilt to give the Johnnies a four-point lead, 68-64, with 2 minutes to play. Peoples took over and led the Blue Demons back sinking another pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to tie the score at 71, the ninth and final tie of the game. Drake scored 10 of St. John's 11 points in the first overtime.
In the second overtime, DePaul once again jumped in front before Mayo knocked down a pair from the line. Drake got an acrobatic finish to go to break the tie and then hit a mid-range jumper to propel ahead once again. After a pivotal finish at the rim from Mayo to make it 79-75 with 1:29 to play. Drake capitalized from the foul line knocking down four in the final 30 seconds to claim an 83-77 victory and one of the most impressive scoring performances in St. John's history.
St. John's won its third-straight game against DePaul which is the longest-ever streak in the 26-game series that dates back to 2006.
The Red Storm will return home after a two-game road stint to face Georgetown on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest.
Team Stats
SJU
DePaul
FG%
.426
.345
3FG%
.391
.095
FT%
.647
.833
RB
58
45
TO
23
7
STL
3
12
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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