St. John's University Athletics
Saturday, January 18
Queens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)
2 p.m.
St. John's University
11-7,1-6Big East
64
vs
66
Villanova
10-9,4-3Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Villanova
10
14
22
20
66
St. John's (NY)
13
12
19
20
64
St. John’s Late-Game Comeback Falls Short against Villanova, 66-64
1/18/2025 5:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Five Johnnies finished in double-figures in Saturday’s setback
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's women's basketball team's late-game run fell short on Saturday afternoon against Villanova, 66-64.
The Red Storm (11-7, 1-6 BIG EAST) rallied to score the game's final six points and nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the final 2:25.
The St. John's women's basketball program celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday, welcoming back former players throughout its entire history. The "Pioneers of the Game" award was presented to the first-ever varsity team, the 1974-75 squad.
Five Johnnies finished in double-figures for the third time this season as the Red Storm shot 52.9 percent (18-34) from the field in the second half.
Kylie Lavelle finished in double-figures for the third time in the last for games. The junior tallied 13 points, five rebounds and a career-best four blocks. Over her last four contests, the Moosic, Pa., native is logging 14.5 points per outing and shooting 70.5 percent from the floor during that span.
Skye Owen tied Lavelle for a team-high 13 points and matched a career-high with six boards. Jailah Donald finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Ber'Nyah Mayo chipped in 11 points and a game-high four steals, while Lashae Dwyer recorded 10 points for her 16th double-figure scoring effort of the season.
Villanova's Maddie Webber led all scorers with 17 points on Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats moved to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in league competition.
The Wildcats jumped out an 8-0 lead in the early going. St. John's quickly responded as Lavelle got the Red Storm on the board after a four-minute scoring drought to start the game. The Johnnies got hot in a hurry as Owen took an intercepted pass to the other end for an easy finish for the first of five-straight made field goal attempts. Lavelle closed the 11-0 run over just 3:19 with a drained triple from the top of the key to put the Red Storm in front for the first time, 11-8. After Villanova ended its 4:49 scoring drought, Phoenix Gedeonadded the final bucket of the first 10 minutes giving the Johnnies a 13-11 edge.
In the second stanza, Ariana Vanderhoop swished a triple from the top of the key as the home squad started to grow its lead. Mayo finished an acrobatic lay-up through traffic before Dwyer knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to give the Johnnies' their largest lead of the day, 22-14, midway through the second quarter. Villanova ended the half on an 8-3 spurt as St. John's clung onto a one-point lead, 25-24, heading into the break.
In the third quarter, the two sides continued to go back-and-forth in Queens as a 15-4 Villanova scoring run gave them an eight-point cushion, 39-31. The Red Storm roared back once again, scoring 11 straight to hop right back in front. Owen tied the game with a steal and score and retook the lead with a corner triple, 42-39. As the two sides continued to battle, Jasmine Bascoe finished a tough runner at the buzzer to give the visitors a two-point edge, 46-44, heading into the final stanza.
In the final 10 minutes Villanova scored the first seven points of the frame to expand its lead to nine before a 3-pointer from Donald brought the run to a halt. After trailing by 10, 61-51, with 2:25 to play, the Johnnies refused to give up, orchestrating a furious comeback. Down eight in the final 30 seconds, Dwyer finished at the rim and immediately trapped the Villanova ballhandler in the corner as her and Donald forced the turnover leading to another bucket from Dwyer to make it a four-point game. The Red Storm defense forced yet another turnover but were unable to convert the fastbreak lay-in through contact. Villanova, still ahead by four, missed a pair of free throws but the Red Storm ran out of time as Dwyer tallied the final bucket as the clock expired, 66-64.
Next up, St. John's will travel down to Washington D.C. to take on BIG EAST opponent Georgetown at 7 p.m. on Jan. 22 inside McDonough Arena.
The Red Storm (11-7, 1-6 BIG EAST) rallied to score the game's final six points and nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the final 2:25.
The St. John's women's basketball program celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday, welcoming back former players throughout its entire history. The "Pioneers of the Game" award was presented to the first-ever varsity team, the 1974-75 squad.
Five Johnnies finished in double-figures for the third time this season as the Red Storm shot 52.9 percent (18-34) from the field in the second half.
Kylie Lavelle finished in double-figures for the third time in the last for games. The junior tallied 13 points, five rebounds and a career-best four blocks. Over her last four contests, the Moosic, Pa., native is logging 14.5 points per outing and shooting 70.5 percent from the floor during that span.
Skye Owen tied Lavelle for a team-high 13 points and matched a career-high with six boards. Jailah Donald finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Ber'Nyah Mayo chipped in 11 points and a game-high four steals, while Lashae Dwyer recorded 10 points for her 16th double-figure scoring effort of the season.
Villanova's Maddie Webber led all scorers with 17 points on Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats moved to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in league competition.
The Wildcats jumped out an 8-0 lead in the early going. St. John's quickly responded as Lavelle got the Red Storm on the board after a four-minute scoring drought to start the game. The Johnnies got hot in a hurry as Owen took an intercepted pass to the other end for an easy finish for the first of five-straight made field goal attempts. Lavelle closed the 11-0 run over just 3:19 with a drained triple from the top of the key to put the Red Storm in front for the first time, 11-8. After Villanova ended its 4:49 scoring drought, Phoenix Gedeonadded the final bucket of the first 10 minutes giving the Johnnies a 13-11 edge.
In the second stanza, Ariana Vanderhoop swished a triple from the top of the key as the home squad started to grow its lead. Mayo finished an acrobatic lay-up through traffic before Dwyer knocked down a pair from the charity stripe to give the Johnnies' their largest lead of the day, 22-14, midway through the second quarter. Villanova ended the half on an 8-3 spurt as St. John's clung onto a one-point lead, 25-24, heading into the break.
In the third quarter, the two sides continued to go back-and-forth in Queens as a 15-4 Villanova scoring run gave them an eight-point cushion, 39-31. The Red Storm roared back once again, scoring 11 straight to hop right back in front. Owen tied the game with a steal and score and retook the lead with a corner triple, 42-39. As the two sides continued to battle, Jasmine Bascoe finished a tough runner at the buzzer to give the visitors a two-point edge, 46-44, heading into the final stanza.
In the final 10 minutes Villanova scored the first seven points of the frame to expand its lead to nine before a 3-pointer from Donald brought the run to a halt. After trailing by 10, 61-51, with 2:25 to play, the Johnnies refused to give up, orchestrating a furious comeback. Down eight in the final 30 seconds, Dwyer finished at the rim and immediately trapped the Villanova ballhandler in the corner as her and Donald forced the turnover leading to another bucket from Dwyer to make it a four-point game. The Red Storm defense forced yet another turnover but were unable to convert the fastbreak lay-in through contact. Villanova, still ahead by four, missed a pair of free throws but the Red Storm ran out of time as Dwyer tallied the final bucket as the clock expired, 66-64.
Next up, St. John's will travel down to Washington D.C. to take on BIG EAST opponent Georgetown at 7 p.m. on Jan. 22 inside McDonough Arena.
Team Stats
VU
SJU
FG%
.480
.466
3FG%
.500
.333
FT%
.538
.714
RB
33
30
TO
13
8
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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