St. John's Rolls Past Duquesne, 65-52, to Advance to WNIT Quarterfinals
QUEENS, N.Y. - Led by a dominating performance on the defensive end, the St. John’s women’s basketball team rolled to a wire-to-wire, 65-52, victory over Duquesne in the WNIT Third Round on Thursday at Carnesecca Arena.
The Red Storm (19-14) led by as many as 27 in the contest, advancing to the WNIT Quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Akina Wellere led the way with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field for her fourth-consecutive double figure game in postseason play. The sophomore also added a trio of rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Alisha Kebbe finished with 16 points, three rebounds, and three steals in the victory while Maya Singleton posted her 18th double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 boards.
Imani Littleton was a force on the glass for the Johnnies in the victory, recording 11 rebounds and rejecting five shots to go along with the senior’s seven points. With the five rejections, Littleton moves into seventh all-time in program history with 99 career blocks.
Tiana England posted a near double-double with nine points and seven helpers while swiping two steals. The redshirt freshman’s best pass came on a behind-the-back feed to Singleton in the third quarter to highlight a dominant opening three frames.
As a team, St. John’s shot 42.3% for the contest, but was held to only 3-of-12 (25%) in the final quarter to allow Duquesne (25-8) to close the deficit down to 13.
The Red Storm also collected 11 offensive rebounds for the third-consecutive postseason game and outrebounded the Dukes, 36-28, in the contest.
Turnovers were also a factor in the triumph for the Johnnies, forcing 18 takeaways in the contest.
Despite a pair of early turnovers, St. John’s took control in the opening minutes of the contest. Kebbe opened the scoring with a floater from the painted and was followed by a sweet feed from England to Littleton for a quick 4-0 start.
Wellere began to hit from downtown when the junior drilled back-to-back triples from the top of the arc for 12-3 lead at the midway mark of the quarter.
Following the nine-point advantage, Duquesne began to chip into the deficit with a run of its own. The Dukes embarked on a 6-1 spurt to cut the lead down to 13-9 after 10 minutes of action.
The teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but St. John’s erupted on a 9-0 run to build a 24-11 lead with less than six to play in the half.
Kebbe accounted for five of the nine points during the stretch for the Johnnies, including a corner three, and Littleton capped the run with an offensive rebound, basket, and the foul for an old fashioned three-point play.
Neither side could find the basket over next few minutes, with turnovers becoming the story as the frame wore on. The Red Storm broke a 2:48 scoreless drought with a make from the charity stripe, and opened the floodgates on another run.
St. John’s continued to force turnovers on the defensive end of the court, collecting a pair of steals and forcing a three-second violation on the Dukes that led to immediate offense.
Andrayah Adams nailed a transition three before a Littleton layup and a pair of England free throws pushed the advantage to 32-15 with less than a minute to play.
The mistakes continued to pile up for Duquesne, turning it over for a fifth-consecutive possession as Hoppie nailed a transition jumper to cap off a 10-2 run to end the half with a 34-17 lead.
As a team, St. John’s shot 12-of-29 (41.4%) from the field including 8-for-16 (50.0%) in the second quarter. The Johnnies also held the Dukes to a 30.0% clip and without a made field goal for the final 5:23 of the half.
The Red Storm also dominated the glass over the opening 20 minutes, boasting a 20-12 advantage with a 6-0 mark on the offensive board.
Entering the second half, the Johnnies kept their foot on the gas on both sides of the ball. England converted a layup on the opening possession before the redshirt freshman set up Singleton with a great pass for another bucket.
Littleton also cranked up the defense with a pair of rejections, with the first leading to a transition triple by Wellere, to continue to smother the Duquesne attack and lead 43-25 with 5:05 to play in the third.
St. John’s flexed its muscles over the final five minutes of the third quarter, outscoring the Dukes, 10-3. England provided the highlight of the period with a no-look, behind-the-back feed to Singleton on the fast break for a 53-28 lead after three.
Duquesne chipped away at the beginning of the fourth, scoring 11 of the frame’s first 12 points to cut the deficit down to 54-39, but the Red Storm salted the game away with converted free throws and strong defense.
St. John’s will have to wait until Friday to find out its opponent and location as the Johnnies will battle winner of James Madison and West Virginia in the WNIT Quarterfinals.