The Georgetown Hoyas came out victorious in their overall season series with the Red Storm (2-1) on Saturday night, after a 53-44 victory in the Big East quarterfinals at Mohegan Sun Arena. St. John’s battled through the No. 1 ranked Hoya defense for all four quarters but was forced into a hole they simply could not recover from.
The No. 3 Red Storm last played on Feb. 27 against Marquette, and their well deserved bye into the tournament also earned them a 9:30 p.m. start in Uncasville, CT. One can only assume that the time off took a toll on the team.
Seeing the effects of 11 days off early on, the Johnnies offense needed time to warm up. Georgetown pressed early and often, not letting up for anything in the first half and halting St. John’s to only 16 points – the fewest amount scored for the Red Storm in a half this season.
Unanimous first team all-conference guard Unique Drake finished the contest in double-figures with 10 points on the night. The Hoyas had a relentless watch on her, double and triple teaming at all opportunities and limiting her shot options from the start.
Georgetown started out the contest on a 10-0 run, courtesy to three Red Storm turnovers in the opening minutes of play. Their defense was the difference maker in the game as they staggeringly halted St. John’s to zero points in the paint in the first half.
The second quarter momentum could not be stopped for Georgetown as they continued to go up 25-16 at the half. Although St. John’s was able to close the gap to single digits, they were still struggling on the offensive end. In a highly physical contest between the old-school Big East rivalry, St. John’s appeared to be taking all of the beating. The Hoyas (18) had double the amount of rebounds than St. John’s at the end of the first half.
When the third quarter rolled around it looked as if there was finally a light being shed on St. John’s.
Big East honorable mention and graduate forward, Jillian Archer, launched into four points made on two quick jumpers to get St. John’s started. If there was a lifeline for St. John’s throughout the game, it was seen in Archer. The former Hoya finished with 16 points for the Red Storm, but was uncharacteristically outnumbered on the boards. She collected only three rebounds on the night.
Senior guard Ber’Nyah Mayo missed the entire second quarter after falling into some foul trouble. After coming back in for the second half she was able to take the pressure off of the press on Drake, matching her with 10 points by the end of the game.
The energy in the second half was lifted. St. John’s was able to go on a 9-4 run to close the scoring gap to as little as three, and only allowed 10 Hoya points in the third quarter. They finally came up with some timely rebounds as sophomore guard Jailah Donald battled for one on the boards and fired a long pass to Mayo for an easy Archer bucket.
Then, the fourth quarter hit. Although Georgetown would only go on an 18-14 scoring run, St. John’s could not recover from the points lost in the previous quarters. Kelsey Ransom and Garceann Bennet combined for 39 points for Georgetown, just five points shy of St. John’s’ total on the night.
Despite the offensive struggles, St. John’s was able to capitalize on Georgetown fouls, going 12-14 on free throw attempts. They finished the game shooting 14.3% from beyond the arc.
St. John’s averaged 60 points per game this season, and came up with only 44 in Saturday night’s contest. From here, they will have to wait for a slightly less hopeful NCAA tournament bid next week.
