For the sixth time this season, the St. John’s Women’s Basketball team beat an opponent by 15 or more points — an impressive statistic in their dominant first nine games of the season. None of the previous five blowout wins were as anxious or fragile as the 63-45 win over Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
In their two games before facing the Demon Deacons, the Johnnies faced their most adversity yet. Harvard handed the Red Storm their first loss on a brutal buzzer-beating layup on Nov. 28. Penn State nearly added another loss on Dec. 2, if it wasn’t for a clutch four-point run by senior guard Lashae Dwyer in the final two minutes of the 72-67 win.
Against a scrappy and physical team like Wake Forest, St. John’s had a difficult path in front of them ahead of the Dec. 8 matchup.
The Demon Deacons’ full-court defense pressured Dwyer (14 pts., 2 ast., 4-12 FG ) in the opening minutes, causing two turnovers and a quick foul. Early struggles from Dwyer left Head Coach Joe Tartamella without his most reliable scoring option for much of the game, forcing him to lean on other players for offensive output.
Former Wake Forest commit and junior guard Skye Owen (18 pts., 3 reb., 1 ast.), immediately rose to the occasion and swung the lead back to the Johnnies after a three-pointer and mid-range jump shot, her first of multiple scoring outbursts in her semi-revenge game.
St. John’s led 14-9 at the end of the first quarter and added to this lead in the second quarter by getting to the free-throw line at will.
The Red Storm broke down the Wake Forest defense by earning their points at the foul line. At halftime, the team had shot 10 free throws in comparison to the Demon Deacons’ two. On the way to the first double-double of her collegiate career, senior forward Phoenix Gedeon (11 pts., 14 rebs.) benefited most from getting to the line, making seven free throws overall.
This success at drawing fouls and collecting free points had St. John’s leading at half-time 27-15.
The Red Storm’s 12-point margin began to crumble in a disastrous third quarter. Wake Forest exploited the Johnnies’ lack of size and rim protection thanks to sophomore guard Riley Theuerkauf’s (10 pts., 3 asts.) ability to drive into the lane and the paint presence of senior forward Demeara Hinds (17 pts., 8 rebs.). At this point in the game, Wake Forest had scored more than half of their 34 points in the paint.
St. John’s guards also began turning the ball over at an alarming rate, coughing up possessions a staggering seven times this quarter. The Demon Deacons’ full-court press and paint superiority brought them back into the game, only trailing 40-34 at the end of the third quarter.
But, the Red Storm fought back.
Tartamella credited the exact second when fate turned back in St. John’s favor. “At that 4:57 marker we flipped the switch, we decided to lock in and play,” he said., “Skye [Owen] took it over.”
St. John’s led only by three points, but Owen stole the ball and promptly hit a three-pointer. Momentum continued to mount as Owen hit another three in the next possession and Gedeon scored an and-one, crushing Wake Forest with an insurmountable 12-point lead with only one minute left to play.
The Red Storm scored another six points in this final minute, closing the game out with a 17-2 run in less than five minutes to win 63-45 and improve to 8-1 on the season.
Owen scored eight points in the final quarter, cementing herself as a legitimate closer for this team in crunch time and having her best game since being thrust into the starting lineup.
This new prominent role in the offense does not intimidate the junior guard.
“Every time I go out there it’s the same,” she said post-game. “Starting or not starting, I just come out with the same stuff.”
Owen and St. John’s next challenge will be on the road against the Hofstra Pride on Dec. 11.
To access the final box score from the St. John’s win, click here.
