Women's Basketball Falls to St. John's in BIG EAST Matchup

Monday, January 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

9-5, 1-2BIGEAST

St. John's

9-4, 1-1BIGEAST

St. John's

Xavier

Women's Basketball Falls to St. John's in BIG EAST Matchup

01.02.17 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

The Musketeers started off strong, but fell short to the Red Storm, 65-48

By: Lauren Lamping, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Musketeers fell to BIG EAST foe St. John's, 65-48, on Monday night at Cintas Center. Xavier is now 9-5 overall (1-2 in BIG EAST), while St. John's improved to 9-4 overall (1-1 in BIG EAST).

Xavier led by eight at the end of the first quarter, but could not overcome being out scored, 28-7, in the second quarter.

NOTABLES

• The Musketeers trail the all-time series with the Red Storm, 4-3, and are 2-2 when playing St. John's at Cintas Center.
• St. John's has won the last three meetings between the two teams.
• Leah Schaefer posted a game-high four blocks, tying her season. She also added a team-high two steals.
• Raeshaun Gaffney recorded her 12^th double-figure scoring game of the season, leading the team with 16 points. She was 6-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the foul line.
• Maddison Blackwell put up a team-high six rebounds, even though Xavier was out-rebounded, 43-24.
• The Musketeers out shot the Red Storm 42.5 percent to 39.4 percent.
• Xavier is now 1-2 when allowing more than 60 points in a game.

FIRST QUARTER

• Raeshaun Gaffney started the game off with a wide open jumper and scored the first four points of the game for Xavier.
• The Xavier defense displayed a strong 2-3-zone, causing trouble for the Red Storm in the beginning of the quarter.
• Xavier shot 63.3 percent from the field, ending the quarter with a 12-2 run.
• The Musketeers ended the first half leading the Red Storm, 18-10.

SECOND QUARTER

• St. John's responded by shooting 60 percent (12-for-20) from the floor, outscoring the Musketeers, 28-7, in the quarter to build a 38-25 halftime lead.
• Raeshaun Gaffney went into halftime with a team-high nine points.

THIRD QUARTER

• Xavier forced two turnovers to open the quarter as the Musketeers got within 11 points at the 9:14 mark, but St. John's responded with a three-point play to maintain its double-figure lead.
• St. John's outscored Xavier, 19-12, in the quarter to take a 57-37 lead into the final quarter.
• Leah Schaefer made her mark on the defense recording two blocks in the quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Musketeers out scored the Red Storm 11-8 in the fourth quarter. Anniina Äijänen led Xavier in scoring as the junior forward scored all four of her points in the frame.
• Xavier went on a 5-0 run to end the game.

UP NEXT

• The Musketeers take on BIG EAST opponent Seton Hall on Wednesday Jan. 4. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Cintas Center and will be aired on the BIG EAST Digital Network.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW