Moore’s Double-Double Not Enough as Creighton Hands St. John’s First BIG EAST Loss

QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John’s Women’s Basketball (7-2, 0-1 BIG EAST) dropped its conference opener to Creighton (3-4, 1-0 BIG EAST) on Thursday night, 60-52, at Carnesecca Arena in front of 535 fans.

The Red Storm’s six-game winning streak came to an end in a tightly contested battle that saw 10 ties and eight lead changes before Creighton pulled away late with a decisive 10-0 run.

Moore Continues Hot Streak Despite Loss

Junior forward Brooke Moore recorded her third double-double in the last four games, tallying 14 points and matching a career-best 11 rebounds. The BIG EAST Player of the Week continued her stellar play but couldn’t lift the Red Storm past the Bluejays.

“We really weren’t focused, I thought, through the game,” said head coach Joe Tartamella. “It was hard to find combinations that would work with how they were trying to play.”

Sophomore Sa’Mya Wyatt led St. John’s with 16 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor—her fifth double-digit performance in the last six games. Shaulana Wagner added 10 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in the losing effort.

Townsend’s Career Night Powers Creighton

Creighton’s Kennedy Townsend delivered a career-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, leading all scorers. The Bluejays shot 33.3% from beyond the arc, connecting on 11 three-pointers compared to just two for St. John’s.

“When you give up 11 threes to a team that averages nine a game, and you made two, I thought our shot selection was a struggle,” Tartamella said. “We just really lacked energy.”

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Game Flow

St. John’s started strong, building a four-point cushion at the end of the first quarter, 14-10, with Moore and Wagner combining for the final 11 points of the frame.

The second quarter saw multiple momentum swings. Creighton engineered a 10-2 run to claim a 20-16 advantage, but Wyatt responded with three consecutive buckets to tie the game at 22-22. Janeya Grant knocked down a contested three-pointer to give the Red Storm a 25-24 edge, and Wyatt’s turnaround jumper sent St. John’s into halftime with a 27-24 lead.

The third quarter featured back-and-forth action with neither team gaining separation. Creighton opened with back-to-back threes to jump ahead 30-27 after a scoreless opening four minutes. St. John’s went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line late in the period, but the Bluejays held a narrow 38-36 advantage heading into the final frame.

Late Collapse Dooms Red Storm

Moore grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a sweeping layup through contact to give St. John’s a 41-40 lead early in the fourth quarter. The game remained tight until the final three minutes when Townsend took over.

With 2:35 remaining, Townsend nailed back-to-back three-pointers to give Creighton its largest lead of the night, 53-43. Moore responded with a late push, cutting the deficit to five points at 53-48, but the Bluejays sealed the victory at the free-throw line.

Red Storm News:

• St. John’s Catches Fire in Victory Over Memphis, 84-73, to Close Cayman Islands Classic
• St. John’s Outlasts Georgia Tech in Dramatic Fashion to Open Cayman Islands Classic, 77-75
• St. John’s Women’s Basketball Dominates Central Connecticut State 71-46; Red Storm Rolls to Fourth Straight Victory

Statistical Breakdown

St. John’s shot 39.6% from the field (19-for-48) but struggled mightily from three-point range, connecting on just 2-of-17 attempts (11.8%). The Red Storm excelled at the charity stripe, shooting 80% (12-for-15).

Creighton shot 35.7% overall (20-for-56) but dominated from beyond the arc at 33.3% (11-for-33). The Bluejays’ Grace Boffeli added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Neleigh Gessert contributed 12 points off the bench.

St. John’s outscored Creighton 30-16 in the paint and held a 34-30 rebounding advantage, but the three-point disparity proved insurmountable.

Coach’s Take on Energy Concerns

When asked about the team’s sluggish appearance, Tartamella acknowledged the challenge of returning from the Cayman Islands tournament.

“I think we did look sluggish for sure,” Tartamella said. “I’ve watched our practice the last couple of days. I kind of felt it a little bit in terms of our preparation and the level of where we were. But I mean, it’s just an excuse to me in terms of being able to not win a game. You shouldn’t be tired.”

The coach also addressed his decision to deploy the full-court press late in the game rather than earlier.

“I thought we were tired through the game, so the way that we looked was the indicator for me of whether we can get up or not,” Tartamella explained. “They do a great job of breaking pressure to get layups and threes. The way they were shooting it also probably gave us a little bit of hesitation.”

Looking Ahead

St. John’s will look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon when it hosts Providence for another BIG EAST battle at 2 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm will need to rediscover the energy and execution that fueled their six-game winning streak.

“We knew they were going to stress us in areas, which was good, just to see where we got to be better,” Tartamella said. “I thought we did a fairly good job of trying to give them a plan and we didn’t really get it done tonight. So, disappointing.”

GAME NOTES:

• Attendance: 535
• St. John’s drops to 7-2 overall, 0-1 in BIG EAST play
• Creighton improves to 3-4 overall, 1-0 in BIG EAST play
• Game duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes
• Officials: Jules Gallien, John Capolino, Courtney Robinson

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