The St. John’s Women’s Basketball team. Photo by: Stacy Podelski
Following a 1-1 week on the road, the St. John’s Women’s Basketball team will travel to Storrs, Conn., for a Wednesday evening matchup with No. 3/5 Connecticut.
Tip-off from Gampel Pavilion is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SNY with Meghan Culmo and Allen Bestwick on the call.
Wednesday will mark the Johnnies’ first time back to Storrs since Feb. 18, 2012. In the Red Storm’s last trip to Gampel Pavilion, former St. John’s standout and current Assistant Coach Shenneika Smith drained a last second 3-pointer that lifted the Red Storm to a 57-56 upset over then-No. 2 UConn. The Johnnies’ thrilling victory snapped the Huskies’ 99-game home court winning streak.
St. John’s (5-9, 2-7 BIG EAST) enters its matchup with the Huskies following a 70-53 victory at Georgetown last Wednesday afternoon. Leilani Correa anchored the Red Storm past the Hoyas, as the sophomore guard matched a career-high 35 points on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor. The 6-foot guard’s 35-point effort tied for the third most points in a single game last week among all division one players.
Over the Johnnies two-game stretch, Correa averaged a league-best 32.0 points per game to earn BIG EAST Player of the Week honors. Backcourt teammates Kadaja Bailey and Unique Drake also averaged double figures through two contests last week. Bailey notched back-to-back double-doubles against both Villanova and Georgetown. The Long Beach, N.Y., native averaged 16.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per outing. Drake put up 15.0 points per game, shattering a career-high with 21 points against Villanova on Monday.
The Red Storm and Huskies, who spent the last seven seasons in the American Athletic Conference before rejoining the BIG EAST this summer, will meet for the first time in over two years. In the two teams last matchup, UConn defeated the Red Storm, 65-55, at the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
The nationally ranked Huskies (11-1, 9-0 BIG EAST) enter Wednesday’s contest on the heels of a 33-point victory over then-No. 17/20 DePaul. Christyn Williams, who was named BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, led UConn past DePaul with 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor. Williams sits second on the team in scoring this year with 16.8 points per game.
Paige Bueckers, a six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, leads the team in scoring this year with 18.5 points per game. Bueckers leads the league in assists with 5.7 per contest and sits third overall in the conference in steals with 2.5 thefts per outing.
The Huskies lead the conference in a number of categories this season, including scoring offense (86.5 ppg), scoring margin (+33.0), field-goal percentage (.530), rebounding margin (+12.1), blocked shots (5.8) and assists (21.8).
After Wednesday’s meeting with the Huskies, St. John’s is scheduled to have a week-long layoff before hosting DePaul on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the St. John’s Athletics Department fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Fan Cutout – St. John’s University Athletics – Official Athletics Website (redstormsports.com)