Published: November 02, 2006
QUEENS, N.Y.
Angel
Tate and Joy
McCorvey each had double-double efforts for the Red Storm, but
the St. John’s women’s basketball team fell in its preseason
exhibition, 73-65, to the Team adidas Premier Players Thursday
night at Carnesecca Arena.
McCorvey had an outstanding collegiate debut, grabbing a
team-high 12 rebounds and scoring 12 points. Tate, meanwhile, led
the Red Storm with 16 points and added 11 rebounds.
St. John’s jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after back-to-back
3-pointers by Tiina
Sten and Monique
McLean, and held the lead until the 12-minute mark of the first
half when Leah Metcalf hit two free throws to put the Premier
Players up, 13-11. The teams battled back and forth and the Red
Storm reclaimed the lead, 28-27, on a jumpshot by freshman Allie
Patterson from the right elbow, but the visiting squad fought
back to take a 35-32 lead at halftime.
In the second half, St. John’s came out strong and tied the game
at 39 when Tate hit a fastbreak layup on an assist from Kia
Wright with 16:28 left. From there, St. John’s extended its
lead to three points when Wright found another teammate, this time
McCorvey, in transition for an easy basket.
That 44-41 lead with 15:32 left in the game was the Red Storm’s
largest of the second half, while its last lead came at the 12:56
mark. The Premier Players, led by Metcalf with 24 points, took a
49-48 lead on a jumpshot by Bellva May and never trailed again,
winning by a final score of 73-65.
Nikki
Jo Rotolo played solid minutes for St. John’s, finishing with
10 points and six assists, while Wright had six points, three
assists and a steal.
Sten was the fourth St. John’s player in double digits in the
points column, netting 12 while grabbing six rebounds. Patterson
was 3-for-4 from the field and had six points, three rebounds and
two steals.
St. John’s opens its regular season with the Preseason Women’s
National Invitation Tournament. The Red Storm was selected to host
Iona in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in
Carnesecca Arena.