St. John’s Moves Past Loyola Maryland, 69-61

Wednesday, November 13

Baltimore, Md. (Reitz Arena)

7 p.m.

St. John's University

3-0,0-0Big East

Loyola Maryland

1-2,0-0Patriot

St. John's (NY)

Loyola Maryland

11/13/2024 11:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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Dwyer goes off for 22 points; went 12-for-14 from the free-throw line

BALTIMORE– The St. John's women's basketball team clawed back from a fourth deficit to edge Loyola Maryland on the road, 69-61, on Wednesday night.

The Red Storm were trailing by three, 60-57, with 4:37 left to play before engineering a 12-1 scoring run to pull out a victory at Reitz Arena.

St. John's (3-0) shot 18-for-23 (78.2%) from the charity stripe and hit on 11 attempts from the line over the final 3:35 to seal the road victory and move to 3-0 on the season.

Reigning BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection Lashae Dwyer continued her start pouring in a season-high 22 points. The senior went a career-best 12-for-14 (87.5%) from the charity stripe, including 7-of-8 in the final quarter. Dwyer's 12 made free throws in a single-game rank ninth all-time in program history and were the most by a Red Storm player since Qadashah Hoppie broke the school record with 17 in a win over Ole Miss on Nov. 24, 2018.   The Toronto native is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game.

Jailah Donald matched her career-high with 13 points, including 11 in the opening half. The junior tied her all-time best with three triples made on 50 percent shooting from beyond-the-arc and dished out a team-high four assists.

The Red Storm started right off the jump as Tara Daye took the tip straight to the room for the opening basket. Ber'Nyah Mayo fired a long-range pass to the corner finding Dwyer for a converted 3-pointer from the corner, as St. John's held a 7-6 advantage early with 6:47 left in the first frame. Donald got going in the opening stanza knocking down a triple from the top of the key off of the extra pass from Kylie Lavelle. Dwyer drained a pull-up jumper to complete the scoring in a tightly contested first quarter, 16-15.

After the Greyhounds quickly took the lead in the second quarter, Donald cashed in on her second from long-range to retake the lead, 21-18. The junior captain made the next field goal for the Johnnies once again draining a triple to match her career-high. Lavelle finished at the rim on the next possession before a corner 3-pointer from Ariana Vanderhoop completed a 13-3 run and forced a Loyola Maryland timeout with 2:35 left in the half, 29-21.  After giving up a Greyhounds basket with just six seconds left, Jade Blagrove quickly inbounded to Dwyer, as the guard sped the down the floor and swished a wide-open triple as time expired in the half. The Johnnies finished the half on a 20-7 scoring stretch and went into the locker room with a double-digit lead, 36-25.

In the third frame, the Greyhounds clawed their way back quickly chipping away at the double-digit advantage throughout the third frame. Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Lex Therien tied it at 46, for the first time since the 8:47 in the second frame with a hook shot. Phoenix Gedeon responded with a post move and finish inside the paint to put St. John's up a basket, 48-46, heading into the fourth.

The Red Storm started off in rhythm as Donald fed Daye in the corner for a 3-pointer just 0:13 into the final frame.  Gedeon completed a big and one to build back a five-point advantage, but the Greyhounds refused to go down quietly. The home squad spurred a 7-0 run in the middle of the frame to take its first lead since early in the second stanza.

The Johnnies turned to the charity stripe and swarming defense to shift the momentum. St. John's made 11 of its 18 free throws over the final 3:35 and held Loyola Maryland without a field goal over the final 4:37. Dwyer made a pair to regain an edge, 62-60, with 2:15 left to play. After Therien made one for the line, Ber'Nyah Mayo came up with a clutch runner that bounced off the front rim and in to make 64-61 with 0:34. After forcing a turnover, Dwyer made her next four attempts at the line to far surpass her previous career-high of eight and seal the victory for the Johnnies.

The Red Storm will conclude its three-game road swing on Sunday at Rhode Island. The non-conference contest from the Ryan Center will tip-off at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.