Things Slip Away From Marquette Women's Basketball Against St. John's

Maybe I should take the blame here.

I was late in firing up my Xbox to watch Marquette take on St. John's on ESPN3 on Sunday afternoon.  I came in just before the 8 minute media time out in the first half, and both teams were tied up at 20 points a piece.  St. John's ran off the next six points of the game, but Marquette would hang around.  A Tia Elbert jumper with 29 seconds left, and the game was tied at 28.  St. John's would add two free throws, and after Marquette caught a break because the clock operator started the clock too early after Marquette threw away the ensuing inbounds, that's where the half ended.

Then, in the second half, it was all St. John's.  A 9-2 Red Storm run opened the half, and Marquette wouldn't get closer than four points again.  It stayed within shouting distance until an and-1 by Aliyyah Handford pushed the lead to 11 with eight minutes left.  Fouls piled up for the Golden Eagles, as Apiew Ojulu, Chelsie Butler, and Shantelle Valentine all had four fouls at that point, thus evaporating Marquette's interior defense.  The lead would balloon as high as 19 in the closing minutes as the game just kept sliding away from MU, all of which happened after I turned the broadcast on.

Arlesia Morse had the high point total for Marquette with 17, and Kenisha Bell finished with nine points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals.  St. John's was led by 25 points from Handford.  The Red Storm had two players who were closing in on a triple-double when the game ended, as Danejah Grant finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Amber Thompson tallied six points, eight rebounds, and seven blocks.

Marquette falls to 0-7 in the Big East, and 4-14 overall.  St. John's stays within striking distance of first place Seton Hall by moving to 5-2 in league action and 14-4 overall.

Up Next: MU returns home for the next two weekends.  They'll get four cracks at putting themselves into the win column for the first time in a conference game, starting with Providence (4-14, 1-6 Big East) on Friday night at 7pm.