After hitting five shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter, St. John’s (5-0) carried their momentum into a huge 69-49 win against the Marist Red Foxes (2-3).
Marist never found their footing, as St. John’s used their hot start to coast to victory. The Red Foxes started the first quarter essentially still in the locker room, going down 13-2 and forcing an early time-out from head coach Erin Doughty.
Despite early first-half struggles, it wasn’t all bad for the Red Foxes. Doughty did make adjustments at halftime, and Marist ended up outscoring their hosts in the second half 32-29. The Red Foxes also hit four times the amount of triples in the second half, going 4-12 compared to the 1-10 first half.
Senior guard Catie Cunningham got her second start of the year, once again in place of freshman guard Danielle Williamsen. Williamsen missed the last game, a 69-49 twenty-point loss at Stony Brook, although she did appear off the bench in this one.
Graduate student guard Ariana Vanderhoop, who transferred in from Monmouth University, added three points off the bench in the first quarter. Her three was doubled by junior guard Jailah Donald, who was 2-2 from deep. Two other Red Storm players recorded a triple in a 25-point first quarter.
Pressure from St. John’s forced Marist into three turnovers in the opening period, with eight different Red Foxes entering the game and accounting for a mere 12 points. St. Johns led by a baker’s dozen entering the second quarter.
The Red Storm entered the second quarter of play leading and expanded upon it quickly. A massive part of the growth in their lead was the fact that Marist’s only points of the quarter came with under 75 seconds to play. Williamsen scored a mid-range jump shot with 1:15 to play, and sophomore guard Julia Corsentino added a three-pointer to narrowly cut down the St. John’s lead.
The first half was dominated by St. John’s senior guard Lashae Dwyer. Dwyer, a transfer from the University of Miami, scored a dozen first half points including two triples. She added seven rebounds, five assists and both a block and a steal to give her team a 40-17 lead at the break.
Marist was ice-cold from the field in the first two quarters, shooting a 25% from the field and 10% from three-point range. They were also being out-rebounded 22-18 as well as having ten less assists than the Red Storm (13-3).
Junior center Morgan Lee did her part in the paint, however, scoring four of Marist’s 12 points inside, while also adding five defensive rebounds.
Dwyer picked up right where she left off in the second half, knocking down a triple with 8:26 to play.
Junior guard Skye Owen hit St. John’s second three-ball of the second half, although redshirt junior guard Lexi Tarul added her own for Marist. Tarul would get a block and a rebound a few plays later, which led to Cunningham getting her first three points on the board.
Included in that double-digit lead were two double-digit scorers for the Red Storm. Both Owen and Dwyer were over the ten-point mark, with Dwyer standing strong at 15 and Owen with 10. Both of them had more than the entire Red Foxes’ squad, with Tarul being Marist’s leading score through 25 minutes.
Vanderhoop converted on an and-one opportunity with just over a minute left, putting St. John’s at 6-6 from the free-throw line. Marist, on the other hand, found the line for the first time with under a minute to play in the third quarter.
St. John’s ended the third quarter with a 57-34 lead, after Marist found their offensive game coming out of the break. The Red Storm’s four players with seven or more points doubled the number of Red Foxes with that number, with only Tarul and Corsentino hitting that mark.
Both teams went 2-6 from the field in the third, although Marist finished the quarter 5-6 from the free-throw line. St. Johns hit just one more field goal to tie the quarter at 17, holding the Red Storm lead at 23 points entering the final ten minutes.
Three-point shooting has been a major sign of the Red Foxes’ success thus far this season, with the teams two wins coming in their only two games converting ten or more threes. Both of those came at home as well, in their wins against Cornell and Lafayette.
Tarul’s second half dominance propelled her to being the game’s leading scorer for the Red Foxes, with eight third quarter points adding to her two threes in the fourth.
Vanderhoop hit her second deep-ball of the game, putting her into double-digits. That three-pointer took St.John’s to 12 on the game, a season high for them. Marist, on the other hand, hit only five.
The Red Storm added to their winning streak, starting the season unbeaten at 5-0. They host Stony Brook in their next game, a team that beat Marist earlier this season.
Marist looks to bounce back on Tuesday, November 26 when they host Yale, who currently sit at 1-4 with four straight losses, including a 14-point defeat when they hosted Stony Brook. Tip-off is currently scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Edited by Hayden Shapiro
Graphic and photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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