St. John’s Pulls Away from Xavier in Fourth Quarter, Captures 67-55 Victory

Wednesday, January 31

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

14-9,8-3Big East

Xavier

1-18,0-10Big East

Xavier

St. John's (NY)

St. John’s Pulls Away from Xavier in Fourth Quarter, Captures 67-55 Victory

1/31/2024 10:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Red Storm start BIG EAST play 8-3 in back-to-back years for the first time since the mid 1980’s

QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's women's basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter to down Xavier, 67-55.

The Red Storm outscored the Musketeers 21-11 in the finale frame and shot 5-of-10 (50 percent) from the floor and 11-of-12 (91.3 percent) from the charity stripe to run away with its third-straight win over the last 10 minutes.

The Red Storm move to 8-3 in the BIG EAST for the second year in a row, marking the first time the Johnnies have won their first eight out of 11 in league play in back-to-back seasons since the 1984-85 and 1985-86. campaigns

Unique Drake led the team once again with 24 points sinking 10 field goals. The guard also chipped in four rebounds, two steals and tied a career-best with two blocks. Over her last three outings, the redshirt senior is averaging 26.0 points per game and Wednesday's scoring performance marked her 10^th 20-plus game of the season.

Jillian Archer strung together a strong performance in the paint 17 points, nine boards and two blocks. The graduate student has scored in double-digits in each of the last five outings.

Ber'Nyah Mayo finished in double-figures for the seventh game in a row on Wednesday night, finishing with 10 points while chipping in a season-high eight boards and four assists.

Skye Owen provided a huge lift in 32 minutes of play chipping in nine points and a career-high eight assists. Her eight assists were the most by a Red Storm player since Kadaja Bailey tallied eight on March 5, 2021 against Xavier.

The Johnnies recorded 18 helpers on 24 made field goals at Carnesecca Arena. In two wins over Xavier this season, St. John's (14-9, 8-3 BIG EAST) registered 39 assists on 46 made field goals (84.7 percent).

The Red Storm got off to a slow start but Jailah Donald opened the scoring with a triple from the top of the key to take a 3-2 lead. Xavier reeled off an 8-0 spurt to take a 10-3 advantage. The Musketeers shot 60 percent (3-5) from 3-point range in the opening quarter and held a 19-12 lead after 10 minutes.

In the second stanza, after Xavier built up a double-digit cushion, 25-15, the Red Storm came roaring back. Mayo banked in a triple to shift the momentum. Archer had five points during the 12-0 scoring stretch for the Johnnies that took back the lead, 27-25. Mayo nailed her second triple of the quarter as the shot clock expired to give the Red Storm a 30-27 lead heading to the locker room.

In the third quarter, the Johnnies began to pull away as an inside from Archer expanded the Red Storm lead to seven, 36-29. Xavier (1-8, 0-10 BIG EAST) didn't go down without a fight going on an 11-2 run to regain the advantage, 40-38. Drake sunk a pair of mid-range jumpers to take the lead back, 42-40. Owen got a tough lay-up to go at the final buzzer of the quarter to give the Johnnies a two-point edge, 46-44, heading into the fourth.

Drake took over in the final quarter scoring the team's first eight points to advance the lead to eight points, 54-46. In the middle of the last stanza, the Red Storm went on a 7-0 spurt capped off by an and-one from Mayo to establish a 14-point advantage, 63-49, its largest of the night. The Johnnies continued to impress from the free-throw line down the stretch making 11-of-12 in the fourth to earn its eighth win in nine opportunities at Carnesecca Arena this season.

The Red Storm will be back in action on Sunday afternoon when it visits No. 11/10 UConn at Gampel Pavilion. The national telecast will air on CBS Sports Network.