Published: January 27, 2007
VILLANOVA, Pa.
Senior Kia Wright scored 15 points, dished out
seven assists and hauled down a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the
St. John’s women’s basketball team to a 59-49 victory on the road
at Villanova Saturday.
Wright, a 5-7 point guard, was an offensive and
playmaking force for the Red Storm, and also keyed a
superb team defensive effort for St. John’s. The Red Storm held the
Wildcats to under 50 points and 31.4 percent from the field for the
game.
Monique McLean and Angel Tate
also had standout efforts for St. John’s, as McLean led all players
with 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Tate was also a
double-figure scorer with 14 points.
St. John’s controlled the opening tip and scored first on a
jumpshot by Tiina Sten in the opening minute of
play. After falling behind, 7-6, St. John’s scored nine unanswered
points to take a 15-9 lead at the 8:58 mark.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Wildcat guard Lisa Karcic tied the
score at 15, and the teams traded baskets until Villanova held a
20-19 advantage with 5:37 left in the half. From there, St. John’s
ended the half on a 12-2 run to take a 31-22 lead.
Tate scored 10 of her 14 points in the first stanza, and was
5-for-6 from the field to help St. John’s to a 54.2 shooting
percentage.
In the second half, St. John’s used a 9-0 run, capped off by a
jumpshot by Tate, to take a 46-32 lead with 6:31 to play.
Villanova pulled within eight points with under four minutes to
play on two free throws from Karcic, but the host team would not
get any closer and St. John’s pulled away for the 59-49 win.
Sten finished with five points and five rebounds, while rookie
Joy McCorvey scored eight points and grabbed six
rebounds.
Wright’s 15 points moved her into 13th place on the all-time
scoring list at St. John’s, as she now has 1,030 for her career.
Her 16 rebounds marked a career-high for her (previous was 10 at
Notre Dame on Jan. 26, 2005), a season-best by a Red Storm player
in 2006-07, and the highest rebounding total since Danielle
Chambers hauled down 17 in last year’s season-opener (a 64-53
victory over Boston University on Nov. 18, 2005).
St. John’s improved to 6-12 overall, 2-5 in the BIG EAST, while
Villanova’s record fell to 7-13, 1-6 in the conference).
St. John’s returns to Carnesecca Arena for the first time since
Jan. 6, when DePaul visits Queens for a league matchup. Tipoff is
scheduled for 7 p.m.