St. John’s women’s basketball team secured a 71-58 victory over Villanova on Saturday at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York. This marks the team’s first win against Villanova since December 16, 2023.
The Red Storm displayed strong shooting throughout the game, finishing with a field goal percentage of 51% and limiting Villanova to just under 30%. St. John’s also dominated in rebounding, outpacing the Wildcats by a margin of 40-27, and converted nearly 89% of their free throws.
Brooke Moore led St. John’s with her fifth career game scoring at least 20 points. She made seven of nine shots from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line, making all six attempts. Three other players for St. John’s reached double figures: Beautiful Waheed scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds; Shaulana Wagner contributed 11 points and eight rebounds; Sa’Mya Wyatt added ten points.
For Villanova, Ryanne Allen led with 12 points followed by Jasmine Bascoe with eleven and Brynn McCurry with ten.
After falling behind early, St. John’s responded with a dominant run in the first quarter, holding Villanova scoreless for nearly eight minutes and ending the period ahead by seventeen points. The Red Storm maintained control throughout the second quarter and entered halftime leading by eighteen.
In the third quarter, St. John’s extended its lead to as much as twenty-two before Villanova narrowed the gap slightly midway through the period. However, St. John’s quickly regained momentum by drawing fouls and converting free throws.
During the final quarter, St. John’s increased its advantage to twenty points before Villanova attempted a late comeback that fell short.
St. John’s will next play Creighton in Omaha on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
