An up-and-down season for Red Storm women’s basketball took another turn for the worst as it lost to Louisville, 96-74, last Wednesday.

The Red Storm had no trouble keeping up with the fast-paced Cardinals in the first half, but failed to slow the scoring assault in the second half.

After receiving limited minutes in the first half, the Big East’s leading scorer, Louisville’s Angel McCoughtry, led her Cardinal teammates to their seventeenth victory of the year. McCoughtry, who averages 24.1 points per game, led all scorers with 26 points and accounted for four of the Red Storm’s turnovers with four steals.

“It was challenging guarding her. She doesn’t stop going,” Monique Mcclean said.
McClean had the duty of guarding the talented scorer all night.

The Red Storm’s inability to defend the paint was a major factor, as Louisville scored 54 points down low and had four players in double-figures scoring.

The Johnnies have now lost three in a row and sit at 12-12 on the season.

The Red Storm’s floor general Kia Wright shot efficiently, finishing with a team-high 20 points on 7-11 shooting from the floor. The team’s leading scorer, McClean, finished with 14 points but had a cold night shooting (5-15) from the floor. St. John’s started the night connecting on 58.7 percent of its shots. In the second half it shot a dismal 29 percent.
“Our effort is where we went wrong,” Wright said after the game.

But the Johnnies still have high hopes for the remainder of their season.

“We want to get to the Big East Tournament,” McClean said.