Talk about a taste of your own medicine.
Unable to hang their hat on a usually dominant inside game, the St. John’s University women’s basketball team dropped a close one to the Marquette Golden Eagles, 67-64, Friday night at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee.
After setting consecutive season-highs on the boards last weekend against Butler and Xavier, St. John’s struggled on the glass. The Golden Eagles turned 13 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points and outrebounded St. John’s, 41-32. They also poured in 41 points in the paint.
It is the second straight loss for the Red Storm on the road, and also their third loss in conference play.
St. John’s was offensively challenged for most of the first half. They went through prolonged dry spells while maintaining a lead for the first 20 minutes, thanks to their patented defensive pressure. They scooped up seven steals in the first half and converted them to nine points.
The Red Storm took a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the offense went south from there. They didn’t score for exactly four minutes in the second quarter after Akina Wellere drained a three-pointer with just under nine minutes to go. St. John’s shot a skimpy 30 percent in the first half.
In that time, Marquette was able to turn a six point deficit into a one point lead even though their offense was sluggish as well. The Golden Eagles shot only 35 percent from the court in the half, but outrebounded St. John’s by nine and nearly doubled their points in the paint, two stats that have been staples of Red Storm victories all season.
The second half was a back-and-forth contest that displayed both teams’ improved offense, but also serious foul trouble for St. John’s. The Johnnies fouled the Golden Eagles 14 times in the second half alone, giving them 19 tries at the charity stripe that played a big factor in the way the game ended up. Marquette also used their six second chance points, a category that St. John’s usually dominates thanks to their great rebounding, to take a 48-47 lead with ten minutes to go.
Jade Walker gave the Red Storm the lead on the first possession of the fourth quarter. Grant and Handford kept their chances of victory alive by providing a crucial offensive spark. The duo provided 13 of the team’s 17 points in the final 10 minutes, and St. John’s had a lead with 49 seconds left after another Walker bucket. However, Allazia Blockton grabbed a rebound with four seconds left and sank both free throws to give Marquette a three-point lead. Walker put up a shot through contact as time expired, but it fell short.
Handford nearly had another double, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds. Grant and Walker also finished in double figures in scoring, totaling 19 and 10 respectively. Marquette had four players in double figures, and Natisha Hiedeman led the way with nine boards as well.
