The St. John’s University women’s basketball team kicked off the season by blowing out St. Francis 83-37 Friday night at Alumni Hall. Both teams came out sluggish in the opening minutes, but the Red Storm put the game away by going on a 16-0 run to take a 20-4 lead that they never relinquished.

The scoreboard spoke of a thoroughly dominating performance by the home team in almost all categories. St. John’s had four players in double figures, led by Latasha Thompson, who poured in 15 points.

The defense was effective, forcing the Terriers into 23 turnovers while the offensive barrage translated into double figures in assists, where St John’s dominated with 14.

After the game, Head Coach Darcel Estep was surprised by the night’s output and was encouraged about the way the team approached the game.

“I’m glad about the consistency that we showed out there tonight, which is the most important thing,” she said. “We were able to win a game that we were supposed to win and we got the whole team involved.”

Equally as encouraged was junior Rasheedah Brown who contributed with 10 points. “It was a good sign that we got back to playing as a unit,” she said. “It was important that we got everyone involved in the offense.”

Senior Latasha Thompson paced the Red Storm again, but heads shook when she hit the floor hard twice in the first half.

“I felt a pop when I planted my foot on that play and I forgot to wear my brace so it was making it uncomfortable, but it was fine once I put my brace on”. She should be at full strength when St John’s visits St Peter’s on Nov. 20th.

St John’s used the early offensive surge to set the flow of the game. Led by Sherri Brown’s hounding defense inside and the ferocity of Thompson and Brown on the open floor, the team managed to hold the Terriers to an anemic 22 percent shooting in the first half. At one point, St. Francis went nine minutes without scoring.

In the second half, the Red Storm was able to withstand the defensive pressure that the Terriers put on the ball handlers and went on to outscore St Francis 46-18.

Colleen Barbone was the only St. Francis player to score in double figures, chipping in with 10 points on 6 for 7 shooting.

For St John’s, Telisha Warner had 10 points and eight rebounds; Crystal Bowen shot 3 for 4 from three-point range and finished with 11 points.