St. John's University Athletics
Sunday, March 24
Toledo, Ohio (Savage Arena)
2 p.m.
St. John's University
18-15,11-7Big East
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Toledo
28-5,17-1MAC
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St. John's (NY)
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Toledo
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St. John’s Drops Heartbreaker at Toledo in WBIT Second Round, 72-71
3/24/2024 5:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Red Storm finish 2023-24 campaign with third place finish in BIG EAST play and 18-15 overall record
TOLEDO, Ohio – The St. John's women's basketball team dropped a nail-biter in the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) Second Round on Sunday afternoon at Toledo, 72-71.
St. John's (18-15, 11-7 BIG EAST) led for the majority of the game, but a fourth quarter Toledo (28-5, 17-1 MAC) run pushed the Rockets into the WBIT Quarterfinals.
Unique Drake made her 147th career appearance tonight which set the program record for most games played ever by a St. John's men's or women's basketball player. The redshirt senior went for a game-high 21 points.
The Columbia, S.C., native made five triples which moved her into third all-time in program history for most 3-pointers in a single-season with 79. Drake surpassed former teammate Jayla Everett, who drilled 78 during the 2022-23 season. The team captain ends the season with an 18.4 scoring average, which is the highest by a St. John's player since Danejah Grant in 2015-16 (19.3).
Jillian Archer went 2-for-3 from the floor and ended the year shooting 59.8 percent from field goal range, which sets an all-time program record in that category. The graduate student surpasses former teammate Rayven Peeples, who shot 59.1 percent from the floor during the 2021-22 season.
Ber'Nyah Mayo logged 13 points and dished out five assists at Savage Arena. The senior point guard finished the season scoring in double-figures in 14 of the final 17 contests.
Phoenix Gedeon went for a season-high 10 points and shot 5-for-6 (83.3%) from the floor.
Jailah Donald reached her new career-high in assists in just the first half and ended the game with six helpers. The sophomore hit a crucial pair of triples during a pivotal scoring run in the third frame and tallied 10 points on the afternoon, the fourth player to finish in double-figures.
Freshman Nevaeh Wingate stepped up off the bench and played a season-high 16 minutes and earned personal bests in points (4) and rebounds (3).
St. John's excelled making the extra pass on Sunday afternoon finishing with 19 assists on 29 made field goals. In their two WBIT contests, the Johnnies shot 55.6 percent (60-108) from the floor.
After Archer got the fadeaway lay-in to go to start off the scoring, Drake nailed a corner triple for her 75th of the season. After Skye Owen recorded a steal that led to a missed fastbreak lay-in, the guard made a heads-up play, intercepting a Toledo pass and streaking straight to the rim for the and-one to knot the score, 15-15. Toledo held a two-point lead after the first quarter, 19-17.
Gedeon caught fire in the second frame sinking a long-two range jumper before getting a spinning lay-up to fall. Wingate played quality minutes during the stanza as well, grabbing three boards and adding a bucket that grew the edge to seven, 34-27. On the final possession of the opening half, Mayo drilled a pull-up 3-pointer to carry the Red Storm to a 10-point advantage at halftime, 37-27.
The Rockets jumped right back into it during the third quarter, starting it off with a 7-0 spurt. The resilient Red Storm responded with a run of their own scoring 12 of the next 13 points to build up its largest lead of the day, 49-36. Donald nailed a pair of 3-pointers during that scoring run. Toledo struck back with a 10-0 run of its own to tighten the game once again. Drake nailed two more triples in the final 1:25 of the third frame to bring a six-point advantage, 57-51, into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Mayo sunk a tough lay-up from underneath the basket and Drake hit her fifth and final triple of the game to stretch it back to nine, 62-53. After the Rockets scored eight unanswered to trim the deficit to a single-point. Donald brought the Toledo run to a brief halt sinking one off the window. The Rockets went on a 6-0 spurt to earn their first lead since early in the second quarter.
As the two squads continued to battle in the closing moments Toledo built up a four-point edge, 71-67. Drake weaved her way free inside the paint and sunk a floater to trim the deficit to two, 71-69, with 0:11 on the clock. Toledo split at the line and the Red Storm got the ball back in a one possession game, 72-69. Drake was fouled and missed both free throws and a traveling call on the ensuing rebound gave the Johnnies possession. Archer made an easy lay-in with 0:03 to go to trim it to one but the Rockets inbounded and dribbled out the clock to secure the victory, 72-71.
The Red Storm end the 2023-24 campaign with an 18-15 overall record and finished third in the BIG EAST with an 11-7 mark in league competition.
St. John's (18-15, 11-7 BIG EAST) led for the majority of the game, but a fourth quarter Toledo (28-5, 17-1 MAC) run pushed the Rockets into the WBIT Quarterfinals.
Unique Drake made her 147th career appearance tonight which set the program record for most games played ever by a St. John's men's or women's basketball player. The redshirt senior went for a game-high 21 points.
The Columbia, S.C., native made five triples which moved her into third all-time in program history for most 3-pointers in a single-season with 79. Drake surpassed former teammate Jayla Everett, who drilled 78 during the 2022-23 season. The team captain ends the season with an 18.4 scoring average, which is the highest by a St. John's player since Danejah Grant in 2015-16 (19.3).
Jillian Archer went 2-for-3 from the floor and ended the year shooting 59.8 percent from field goal range, which sets an all-time program record in that category. The graduate student surpasses former teammate Rayven Peeples, who shot 59.1 percent from the floor during the 2021-22 season.
Ber'Nyah Mayo logged 13 points and dished out five assists at Savage Arena. The senior point guard finished the season scoring in double-figures in 14 of the final 17 contests.
Phoenix Gedeon went for a season-high 10 points and shot 5-for-6 (83.3%) from the floor.
Jailah Donald reached her new career-high in assists in just the first half and ended the game with six helpers. The sophomore hit a crucial pair of triples during a pivotal scoring run in the third frame and tallied 10 points on the afternoon, the fourth player to finish in double-figures.
Freshman Nevaeh Wingate stepped up off the bench and played a season-high 16 minutes and earned personal bests in points (4) and rebounds (3).
St. John's excelled making the extra pass on Sunday afternoon finishing with 19 assists on 29 made field goals. In their two WBIT contests, the Johnnies shot 55.6 percent (60-108) from the floor.
After Archer got the fadeaway lay-in to go to start off the scoring, Drake nailed a corner triple for her 75th of the season. After Skye Owen recorded a steal that led to a missed fastbreak lay-in, the guard made a heads-up play, intercepting a Toledo pass and streaking straight to the rim for the and-one to knot the score, 15-15. Toledo held a two-point lead after the first quarter, 19-17.
Gedeon caught fire in the second frame sinking a long-two range jumper before getting a spinning lay-up to fall. Wingate played quality minutes during the stanza as well, grabbing three boards and adding a bucket that grew the edge to seven, 34-27. On the final possession of the opening half, Mayo drilled a pull-up 3-pointer to carry the Red Storm to a 10-point advantage at halftime, 37-27.
The Rockets jumped right back into it during the third quarter, starting it off with a 7-0 spurt. The resilient Red Storm responded with a run of their own scoring 12 of the next 13 points to build up its largest lead of the day, 49-36. Donald nailed a pair of 3-pointers during that scoring run. Toledo struck back with a 10-0 run of its own to tighten the game once again. Drake nailed two more triples in the final 1:25 of the third frame to bring a six-point advantage, 57-51, into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Mayo sunk a tough lay-up from underneath the basket and Drake hit her fifth and final triple of the game to stretch it back to nine, 62-53. After the Rockets scored eight unanswered to trim the deficit to a single-point. Donald brought the Toledo run to a brief halt sinking one off the window. The Rockets went on a 6-0 spurt to earn their first lead since early in the second quarter.
As the two squads continued to battle in the closing moments Toledo built up a four-point edge, 71-67. Drake weaved her way free inside the paint and sunk a floater to trim the deficit to two, 71-69, with 0:11 on the clock. Toledo split at the line and the Red Storm got the ball back in a one possession game, 72-69. Drake was fouled and missed both free throws and a traveling call on the ensuing rebound gave the Johnnies possession. Archer made an easy lay-in with 0:03 to go to trim it to one but the Rockets inbounded and dribbled out the clock to secure the victory, 72-71.
The Red Storm end the 2023-24 campaign with an 18-15 overall record and finished third in the BIG EAST with an 11-7 mark in league competition.
Team Stats
SJU
UT
FG%
.509
.517
3FG%
.444
.214
FT%
.455
.600
RB
25
35
TO
11
13
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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