MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - After advancing to the WNIT Quarterfinals for the first time in program history, the St. John’s women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end Sunday afternoon as West Virginia topped the Red Storm, 76-62.
St. John’s wraps up the 2017-18 campaign with a record of 19-15, its sixth-straight winning season under Head Coach Joe Tartamella.
Akina Wellere had a notable performance in the team’s season finale, setting a pair of career highs with 23 points and four steals for the Red Storm. The junior drained eight of her 13 shots from field, including a pair of 3-pointers. The Chicago native also added six boards and three assists.
Maya Singleton closed out her St. John’s tenure with 13 points to go along with seven boards and a trio of steals.
Andrayah Adams drained four of her five shot attempts from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.
The Johnnies led for a majority of the first quarter, moving ahead by as many as four during the opening 10 minutes. Leading 17-13 after an Adams triple with 1:56 to go, St. John’s saw the Mountaineers score the frame’s final five points to take an 18-17 advantage after one period.
Leading by that same one-point margin after a Singleton jumper less than 90 seconds into the quarter, the West Virginia broke the game open with a 9-2 run, moving ahead by eight, 29-21, following a pair of Teana Muldrow free throws two minutes later. The Mountaineers led by as many as 13 before entering the locker room with a 38-28 edge.
West Virginia continued to convert on the other side of the break, scoring the second half’s first bucket and not allowing the Red Storm to get any closer than 11. A Muldrow three with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter made it 60-43 in favor of the Mountaineers, equaling the home team’s largest lead of the game to that point.
St. John’s clawed back within 11, 64-53, near the midway mark of the final stanza, but West Virginia responded with a 7-0 run to quell any hope for a Red Storm comeback.