The St. John’s Women’s Basketball team capitalized on early momentum with a dominant first half, keeping control for the rest of the Nov. 21 matchup as the Red Storm defeated the Marist Red Foxes 69-49.
With a 40-17 lead going into halftime, the strong start from the Johnnies meant they were in full control, and able to ride out a far more competitive second half, where the Johnnies were outscored by Marist 32-29
Even without junior forward Tara Daye, the game against the Red Foxes was never a contest. Marist had an obvious size advantage entering the game, thanks to 6-foot-3 senior center Morgan Lee, but the Johnnies still managed to outboard Marist 39-31.
“You try to counteract it with speed,” Head Coach Joe Tartaemella said after the game. “We did a pretty good job positioning-wise, I think with the personnel they had it was a matchup situation.”
Senior guard Lashae Dwyer took the court by storm in the win, totaling her first career double-double with a team-high 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“Honestly I’ve been waiting for this moment, I put in the work and it pays off, it’s so great to be here with my teammates,” Dwyer said postgame.
“They always give me the confidence to take the shots, take the right shots, or make the right plays so I would say I’m blessed to be here and I’m blessed to [get] this opportunity.”
The Miami transfer has taken on a much larger role during her start to the season for the Johnnies. She leads St. John’s in points per game with 14.8 compared to her six-point average last year on seven fewer minutes per game. Her transition to the Big Apple has been flawless, earning back-to-back Big East Honor Roll nods as the season just begins to unfold.
Another aspect of the game that worked so well for the Red Storm was their effective passing — totaling a season-high 20 assists on 25 made field goals, including nine in the opening quarter.
“I just think today we shared it. We had more assists than we’ve had, probably, in two games combined,” Tartamella said postgame.
The Johnnies opened play with a three from junior guard Jailah Donald after two offensive rebounds. From there, the Red Storm looked almost unstoppable, going on a 13-2 run before Marist called a much-needed timeout to regroup.
The 13-2 start for St. John’s was thanks to a dominant 5-6 converted shots from the field, with the one miss coming off the first shot of the game. The Red Storm struggled out of the initial timeout to hit shots, going 1-6, but managed to finish the opening quarter with a 25-12 lead. Ariana Vanderhoop (11 pts.) nailed the fifth three of the quarter for the Johnnies, capping off their highest single-quarter point total of the early season, leading 25-12.
In the second quarter, the Red Storm defense allowed a silencing five points from the Red Foxes. All players scored in the final minute of play and totaled 12 defensive rebounds in the quarter alone.
Senior guard Lashae Dwyer led the team in points before the half, scoring five while grabbing four boards in the second quarter. The Johnnies entered the locker room with a 40-17 lead.
The Johnnies’ stats spread throughout the box score, with every single player who touched the court in the half scoring a bucket. What worked for the Red Storm in the first half was the ability to grab a rebound and go directly down the court to score, scoring 12 points off the fast-break compared to Marist’s zero.
Starting the second half, Marist put up a steady back-and-forth attempt. Both teams scored eight points before Tartamella called a timeout.
It was the second straight quarter where the Johnnies struggled to shoot, going 37.5% overall, with the Red Foxes matching their 17 total points in the full 10 minutes. The Red Storm left the third quarter with six team fouls and a slightly smaller 57-34 lead.
The Red Foxes battled even more to open the closing quarter, starting the fourth on a 7-5 run before Tartamella called a timeout. The comeback attempt from Marist was put to rest by the closing buzzer after ultimately out-scoring the Johnnies in a 15-12 quarter that contained many misses from both teams.
The pacing of the game looked different when comparing the two halves — the Johnnies dominated the first with a 40-17 lead, and then slipped up in the second half. Marist outscored St. John’s 32-29 in the final 20 minutes of play.
“I thought we probably pulled back a bit in the second half and I’ll take some blame for that, but I was very pleased,” Tartamella said.
St. John’s will return home after their longest road stretch of the season, coming off of three consecutive road games.
“Honestly, it’s just good to be home,” Lashae Dwyer said. “This is our home and we should not lose in our home. So, that was our mentality coming in today.”
The Red Storm will continue their three-game homestand as they face the Stony Brook Seawolves on Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.
To access the final box score from the St. John’s win, click here.