Second-Half Comeback Falls Short vs St. John's

Friday, March 5

Uncasville, Conn.

11 a.m.

Xavier University

5-10,2-8Big Eas

No. 8 Seed St. John's

8-14,4-12Big Ea

Xavier

St. John's (NY)

Second-Half Comeback Falls Short vs St. John's

03.05.21 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Postgame Quotes (PDF)Photos Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)

Senior A'riana Gray posted a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds on Friday

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - Xavier women's basketball dropped a 65-57 contest to No. 8 seed St. John's on Friday in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Xavier moved to 5-10 on the year, while the Red Storm improved to 8-14.

The Red Storm opened the game on a 9-0 run before Kae Satterfield hit the first basket of the game for the Musketeers. St. John's never trailed in the first half, hitting 57.1 percent (16-for-28) of its shot attempts.

The Red Storm had its largest lead of the game (36-20) at intermission.

Xavier responded by scoring the first 11 points of the second half, closing within five points (36-31) at the 6:43 mark in the third quarter. A Kae Satterfield basket with 5:01 on the clock got the Musketeers within three points (37-34).

The Musketeers outscored the Red Storm, 20-8, in the third quarter - making the score 44-40 with 10 minutes left in regulation. Xavier hit 50 percent (6-for-12) of its shot attempts in the frame.

St. John's bounced back to outscore Xavier, 21-17, in the final quarter to pull away for the 65-57 win. Xavier got within five points twice in the final minute of regulation, but couldn't complete the comeback.

NOTABLES

• A'riana Gray finished with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds. The senior forward added two assists and two steals.

• Kae Satterfield posted 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting. She added six rebounds.

• Nia Clark chipped in seven points and three assists, while Sarah Leyendecker added five points and four rebounds.

• Aaliyah Dunham had a game-high seven steals to go along with five points, four rebounds and three assists. The seven steals are a career-high for the senior guard.

• Xavier finished the game with 14 steals, its eighth game of the season with 10 or more steals. The Musketeers forced 23 turnovers, converting the miscues into 14 points.

• St. John's won the battle on the glass, 34-27, and scored 11 more fastbreak points (17-6).

HIGHLIGHTS