Syracuse University
St. John's
SU Eeks Out One-Point Win at St. Johns
2/14/2009 4:21:35 PM | Women's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. – Syracuse spoiled St. John's Valentine's Day festivities with a one-point, 79-78, victory at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday afternoon. Four Orange posted double-digits as Syracuse held off a late Red Storm charge in the second half to claim its fourth BIG EAST win of the season.
Junior forward Nicole Michael commanded the Orange offense for the second straight contest with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Michael's second consecutive double-double, fourth of the year, was displayed in front of her hometown faithful as a Queens, N.Y. native. Michael went 10-of-14 from the floor and recorded a game-best three steals.
Senior guard Chandrea Jones finished with 21 points and nine rebounds behind 8-of-16 shooting. Jones is now fifth all-time in the SU annals with 13-career 20-plus point games. The Baltimore native has hit the 20-point plateau eight times this season.
Sophomore guard Erica Morrow also put on a show for her local gathering as a Brooklyn, N.Y. resident, accounting for 13 points, nine boards, two steals and a game-high five dimes. Junior forward Vionca Murray chipped in as the fourth double-digits contributor, good for 10 points, four rebounds and a block.
After the break, each team had collected 21 rebounds, but the Orange owned the glass in the second half, finishing with 49 boards to St. John's 32.
Syracuse chalked up the first four points, but St. John's responded with a 7-0 run. Jones jarred one from way downtown to knot the game, 7-7, but Kelly McManmon responded with her second consecutive 3-pointer. Each squad traded baskets, giving way to a Murray field goal to come within one, 12-11, with 15:01 to play in the first half.
The Red Storm captured its largest lead of the half, 17-11, on a Centhya Hart three-point play, but Syracuse countered on a quick 8-0 spurt to regain the edge, 19-17, with four different Orange accounting for buckets. McManmon connected on her third trifecta of the game, eliciting a 7-0 run the other way for the Red Storm for a five-point lead, 24-19, with 7:57 remaining in the first half.
Jones sewed up the score again, 24-24, with five successive points, but St. John's stormed back to swipe a five-point advantage, 30-25, with 5:52 on the clock in the first half. Jones continued to pour it in during the first 20 minutes, scoring her 16th point of the half to crawl within one, 30-29.
The final moments of the first half provided plenty of excitement as Michael crashed the boards off of two missed SU free throws and put them back up, counting towards her seven points under the four minute mark. Michael's second layup figured to be the final points of the half, but Britney Murphy tossed up a 30-footer at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net to give St. John's a four-point cushion heading into the break, 43-39.
Jones nearly matched her season scoring average (16.2 ppg) in the first half as she hit the bottom of the cup for 16 points. McManmon shouldered the Red Storm's scoring duties in the first half with 14 points, swishing 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Syracuse didn't let St. John's buzzer-beater before the half dampen its spirits as the Orange started off the first five minutes of the second session on a 13-4 run. The Orange broke open the battle on the boards within that spell, outrebounding the Red Storm 13-2 during the run as Syracuse claimed a five-point edge, 52-47, with the clock reading 15:23.
The Orange continued to apply pressure at both ends, stretching its lead to six with 11:55 to go, 59-53, by way of field goals from Morrow, Michael and freshman forward Troya Berry. Syracuse maintained its presence on the glass, upholding a seven-point lead as the next stretch of the game unfolded, 65-58, with 8:18 left in the game.
As the next six minute frame unfurled, the Orange hung a 10-point lead on St. John's twice, the largest margin of the game, but St. John's managed to get within three, 76-73, by using a 9-2 run with 2:06 left to go.
Down the stretch Michael and Sky Lindsay swapped scores, but Morrow was sent to the stripe with 30 seconds to go. Morrow made the front end, but St. John's grabbed the loose ball on the second try, but were not able to rally a favorable possession as the Red Storm tossed it out of bounds.
Sophomore guard Marisa Gobuty earned two free tosses with 10 seconds lingering, but she missed both of them, giving way to a Britney Murphy 3-ball with 2.6 seconds on the clock to cut SU's advantage to one, 79-78. Syracuse successfully inbounded the ball without drawing a foul and held on for its first victory since its 11-point win at Marquette on Jan. 27.
The Orange returns to the Carrier Dome for two consecutive home games starting off this Tuesday, Feb. 17 with an 8 pm affair against DePaul followed by a matchup with arch-rival Georgetown on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 6.
