St. John's University Athletics
Friday, March 6
Uncasville, Conn. (Mohegan Sun Arena)
4 p.m.
St. John's University
vs
Xavier
Sixth-Seeded St. John’s to Open 2026 BIG EAST Tournament against 11th-Seeded Xavier
3/5/2026 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Red Storm will face Musketeers for the third time in its conference tournament history
QUEENS, N.Y. – The sixth-seeded St. John's women's basketball team (21-10, 11-9 BIG EAST) will open the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP against 11th-seeded Xavier on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. from Mohegan Sun Arena.
Friday's opening round will be streamed on Peacock with Adam Giardino and Meghan Culmo on the call from Mohegan Sun Arena at 4 p.m. Meghan Caffrey will serve as the sideline reporter in Uncasville, Conn. The winner will advance to meet third-seeded Seton Hall in the quarterfinal round at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday on Peacock.
The Red Storm arrive at Mohegan Sun Arena with a 21-10 overall record and closed out conference competition with an 11-9 mark.
St. John's will make its 41st appearance in the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament and hold a 33-36 overall record in the event. The Johnnies have won four conference tournament titles in 1983, '84, '88 and 2016 and have moved into the quarterfinal round in each of the last 15 tournaments.
The Red Storm sit as the sixth seed for the first time in program history and have faced Xavier twice in the BIG EAST Tournament, defeating the Musketeers in the opening round in back-to-back years in 2021-22.
Brooke Moore was named an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection. After spending two seasons at Liberty as a reserve, Moore took a sizeable leap in her first year in Queens to earn second team honors. The 6-foot guard led the Red Storm, averaging 12.0 points per game on 51.2% shooting from the floor and 75.6% from the charity stripe. The junior guided the Red Storm to a 21-win season.
The Kennesaw, Ga. native has reached double figures in 20 out of 31 contests, recorded the first three double-doubles of her career, eclipsed 20 or more points five times, and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four games this season.
Moore racked up a number of accolades throughout the campaign as she was recognized by the conference four times throughout the season. The Liberty transfer was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Dec. 1 and was tabbed to the honor roll three times. She was one of only three Johnnies honored by the league this season.
Sa'Mya Wyatt also earned a nod from the league as one of three players recognized as All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
A steady presence in the post all season, the sophomore started all 31 games for the Red Storm, averaging 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest. The sophomore reached double figures in 17 games, scored 20 or more points four times and recorded one double-digit rebounding performance, pulling down a career-high 13 boards against Georgetown on Jan. 13.
The Powder Springs, Ga., native led St. John's in field goal percentage, shooting an efficient 51.5% (132-262) from the floor. The forward's strong play earned her three BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selections during the 2025-26 campaign, including a nod on Feb. 16 after averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a 1-1 week. She helped power the Johnnies to a 58-47 win over Butler during that stretch.
One of her top performances of the season came on Jan. 17, when she poured in a career-high 28 points to lift St. John's to a 66-64 road victory over Xavier. Wyatt shot 66.7% (10-15) from the field and was perfect from beyond the arc (2-2) and at the free-throw line (6-6), while adding six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in an all-around effort.
Wyatt earns conference recognition for the second time in her career. Last season, she was the ASUN Freshman of the Year and an All-ASUN Third Team selection at Austin Peay. While with the Governors in 2024-25, she ranked second in NCAA Division I amongst freshmen in field goal percentage (56.4%), trailing only BIG EAST Player of the Year Sarah Strong of UConn.
In its regular season finale, St. John's fell No. 1/1 UConn, 85-49, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. A crowd of 9,612 was on hand, setting a new program single-game attendance record in the team's first standalone contest at The World's Most Famous Arena.
Every Red Storm player who saw action found the scoring column with Jailah Donald led the way with eight points, while Daniela Abies grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Defensively, St. John's limited the Huskies to balanced scoring holding every player under 15 points.
Graduate student guard Shaulana Wagner dished out three assists in the outing against the nationally ranked Huskies, marking her 24th game with at least three helpers in 28 appearances this season. She currently ranks third in the BIG EAST and 54th nationally with an average of 4.7 assists per game.
St. John's and Xavier are set to meet for the third time this season and the 27th meeting overall on Friday afternoon. Earlier this season, St. John's outlasted the Musketeers in a back-and-forth contest on Jan. 17 to earn the 66-64 victory and most recently cruised past Xavier on Feb. 4, 71-52. The Johnnies have captured the last 22 meetings against their conference foe.
Xavier heads to Mohegan Sun Arena with an 11-18 overall record and a 4-16 mark in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers will look to pick up their second BIG EAST Tournament victory since 2015, the only season Xavier has made it past the first round.
In its regular season finale, Xavier fell to Creighton, 71-73, in a close-contested game on Mar. 1 at Cintas Center. Four Musketeers reached double-figures with Meri Kanerva pacing the squad with 19 points. Savanah White controlled the glass for Xavier with 13 rebounds while dishing out a team-high seven assists and chipping in seven points in the outing. As a team, Xavier recorded a season-high field goal percentage of 49.2%, connecting on 29 of its 59 attempts from the floor.
Xavier is led by All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Mariyah Noel, who has posted 15.0 points to rank fifth in the league and holds a 76.2% clip from the free throw line for fourth in the conference. The junior also averages 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from the field and 31.2% from 3-point range.
For more information on the 2026 Women's Basketball Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena, visit the Tournament Central.
Friday's opening round will be streamed on Peacock with Adam Giardino and Meghan Culmo on the call from Mohegan Sun Arena at 4 p.m. Meghan Caffrey will serve as the sideline reporter in Uncasville, Conn. The winner will advance to meet third-seeded Seton Hall in the quarterfinal round at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday on Peacock.
The Red Storm arrive at Mohegan Sun Arena with a 21-10 overall record and closed out conference competition with an 11-9 mark.
St. John's will make its 41st appearance in the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament and hold a 33-36 overall record in the event. The Johnnies have won four conference tournament titles in 1983, '84, '88 and 2016 and have moved into the quarterfinal round in each of the last 15 tournaments.
The Red Storm sit as the sixth seed for the first time in program history and have faced Xavier twice in the BIG EAST Tournament, defeating the Musketeers in the opening round in back-to-back years in 2021-22.
Brooke Moore was named an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection. After spending two seasons at Liberty as a reserve, Moore took a sizeable leap in her first year in Queens to earn second team honors. The 6-foot guard led the Red Storm, averaging 12.0 points per game on 51.2% shooting from the floor and 75.6% from the charity stripe. The junior guided the Red Storm to a 21-win season.
The Kennesaw, Ga. native has reached double figures in 20 out of 31 contests, recorded the first three double-doubles of her career, eclipsed 20 or more points five times, and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in four games this season.
Moore racked up a number of accolades throughout the campaign as she was recognized by the conference four times throughout the season. The Liberty transfer was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Dec. 1 and was tabbed to the honor roll three times. She was one of only three Johnnies honored by the league this season.
Sa'Mya Wyatt also earned a nod from the league as one of three players recognized as All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
A steady presence in the post all season, the sophomore started all 31 games for the Red Storm, averaging 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest. The sophomore reached double figures in 17 games, scored 20 or more points four times and recorded one double-digit rebounding performance, pulling down a career-high 13 boards against Georgetown on Jan. 13.
The Powder Springs, Ga., native led St. John's in field goal percentage, shooting an efficient 51.5% (132-262) from the floor. The forward's strong play earned her three BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selections during the 2025-26 campaign, including a nod on Feb. 16 after averaging 14.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a 1-1 week. She helped power the Johnnies to a 58-47 win over Butler during that stretch.
One of her top performances of the season came on Jan. 17, when she poured in a career-high 28 points to lift St. John's to a 66-64 road victory over Xavier. Wyatt shot 66.7% (10-15) from the field and was perfect from beyond the arc (2-2) and at the free-throw line (6-6), while adding six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in an all-around effort.
Wyatt earns conference recognition for the second time in her career. Last season, she was the ASUN Freshman of the Year and an All-ASUN Third Team selection at Austin Peay. While with the Governors in 2024-25, she ranked second in NCAA Division I amongst freshmen in field goal percentage (56.4%), trailing only BIG EAST Player of the Year Sarah Strong of UConn.
In its regular season finale, St. John's fell No. 1/1 UConn, 85-49, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. A crowd of 9,612 was on hand, setting a new program single-game attendance record in the team's first standalone contest at The World's Most Famous Arena.
Every Red Storm player who saw action found the scoring column with Jailah Donald led the way with eight points, while Daniela Abies grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Defensively, St. John's limited the Huskies to balanced scoring holding every player under 15 points.
Graduate student guard Shaulana Wagner dished out three assists in the outing against the nationally ranked Huskies, marking her 24th game with at least three helpers in 28 appearances this season. She currently ranks third in the BIG EAST and 54th nationally with an average of 4.7 assists per game.
St. John's and Xavier are set to meet for the third time this season and the 27th meeting overall on Friday afternoon. Earlier this season, St. John's outlasted the Musketeers in a back-and-forth contest on Jan. 17 to earn the 66-64 victory and most recently cruised past Xavier on Feb. 4, 71-52. The Johnnies have captured the last 22 meetings against their conference foe.
Xavier heads to Mohegan Sun Arena with an 11-18 overall record and a 4-16 mark in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers will look to pick up their second BIG EAST Tournament victory since 2015, the only season Xavier has made it past the first round.
In its regular season finale, Xavier fell to Creighton, 71-73, in a close-contested game on Mar. 1 at Cintas Center. Four Musketeers reached double-figures with Meri Kanerva pacing the squad with 19 points. Savanah White controlled the glass for Xavier with 13 rebounds while dishing out a team-high seven assists and chipping in seven points in the outing. As a team, Xavier recorded a season-high field goal percentage of 49.2%, connecting on 29 of its 59 attempts from the floor.
Xavier is led by All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Mariyah Noel, who has posted 15.0 points to rank fifth in the league and holds a 76.2% clip from the free throw line for fourth in the conference. The junior also averages 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from the field and 31.2% from 3-point range.
For more information on the 2026 Women's Basketball Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena, visit the Tournament Central.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
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