St. John’s Dominates in Season Opener against Saint Peter’s, 80-39

Monday, November 4

Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

2 p.m.

St. John's University

1-0,0-0Big East

Saint Peter's

0-1,0-0MAAC

Saint Peter's

St. John's (NY)

Photo by: Vincent Dusovic

St. John’s Dominates in Season Opener against Saint Peter’s, 80-39

11/4/2024 5:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Quotes Photo Gallery

Red Storm recorded its largest margin of victory since Nov. 25, 2007

QUEENS, N.Y.– The St. John's women's basketball team cruised to a 80-39 win over  Saint Peter's, its largest victory margin in nearly 17 years.

The 41-point win marked the largest margin of victory since 2007, when St. John's defeated Dartmouth, 74-31, on Nov. 25.

The Red Storm engineered a 26-0 run in first half to dominate Saint Peter's holding them without a point for a 12:40 stretch in the first and second quarters.

Lashae Dwyer had a stellar Red Storm debut exploding for 16 points, four steals, four assists and four rebounds on Monday. The senior shot 7-for-11 from the floor to lead all scorers in just 21 minutes of action

Ariana Vanderhoop was dynamite from downtown finishing with14  points, drilling a career-high four 3-pointers in Queens. The graduate student led an impressive scoring effort from the reserves as St. John's (1-0) went for 43 points off the bench.

Kylie Lavelle was third Red Storm newcomer to finish in double-figures totaling 10 points and 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Tara Daye finished with nine points, three assists and three steals.

The Red Storm defense was swarming forcing the Peacocks into 27 turnovers, the highest giveaway total by an opponent in at least five years. The Johnnies logged 12 steals as Dwyer led the charge with four and Daye chipped in three swipes.

As a team, the Johnnies put forth an efficient shooting display going 54.1% (33-61) from the field and 42.9% (9-21) from 3-point range.

The consecutive streak of wins in home openers grew to eight games on Monday and Head Coach Joe Tartamella moves to 12-1 during the opening game in Queens in his tenure.

In the early going, Dwyer forced a turnover in the middle of the floor and Daye was off to the races converting the fastbreak and one at the other end. Saint Peter's (0-1) made three 3-pointers as the two squads were tied, 11-11, at the first media timeout. The Red Storm dominated from that point from on spurring a 35-5 run that span the rest of the first half. The squad ended the opening quarter with a 7-0 run capped off by a lay-in from Lavelle. The Red Storm shot 76.9 percent from the floor (10-13) in the initial 10 minutes and led 22-13 after one.

In the second quarter, the Red Storm dominated holding the Peacocks scoreless for the first 9:17 in that frame and forced 13 turnovers during the stanza. The offense continue to click as Vanderhoop knocked down a triple to open the scoring. The dominant 26-0 scoring run was completed Lavelle nailed a triple to extend the lead to 41-13 with 2:56 left to play in the half. After three made free throws by the Peacocks, Vanderhoop flushed her second triple of the quarter and Jailah Donald got a runner to go as St. John's went to the locker room with a 30-point advantage, 46-16.

In the latter half, Dwyer completed her 16-point effort with a pull-up 3-pointer at 9:11. Vanderhoop cashed in a triple to finish out a 14-3 run before giving the Red Storm its largest lead of the day, 66-22, with her fourth make from beyond-the-arc with 2:06 to play in the third.

In the final frame, Jade Blagrove banked in a pair of lay-in's. Ariel Little splahed a corner three as the freshman chipped in six points in her collegiate debut. Skye Owen tallied the final five points of the contest, as the Red Storm recorded its largest win in 17 years and biggest in a season opener since Nov. 17, 2000.

The Red Storm will begin a three-game road-swing on Friday when it makes the short trip to face LIU at the Steinberg Wellness Center at 6 p.m.