St. John’s basketball cannot withstand pressure of No. 19 DePaul

St. John’s basketball was unable to withstand the pressure of No. 19 DePaul.

In stepping on the national stage against the No. 19 DePaul Blue Demons (7-3, 4-1 Big East), the St. John’s basketball program was unable to build off its first conference win of the season.

The Red Storm (4-6, 1-4 Big East) could not handle the pressure of DePaul, committing 22 turnovers in the game, ultimately falling 101-84.

Doug Bruno’s team set the tone for the game in the opening seconds with three straight steals and three straight baskets to take a 6-0 lead and never looked back.

A balanced attack led the Blue Demons to its victory as five players reached double-figures but it was Dee Bekelja leading the way with 22 points.

Lexi Held, Jorie Allen, and Bekelja all set season-highs in points while Deja Church tied her season-high.

DePaul was able to shutdown St. John’s sophomore Leilani Correra who only finished with four points but senior guard Qadashah Hoppie had the best game of her season with 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

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Despite its size disadvantage the Blue Demons were able to out-rebound the Red Storm, 42-33, and would double-team Raven Farley and Rayven Peeples every time they touched the ball in the paint.

DePaul almost evenly split its rebounds with 22 defensive boards and 20 on the offensive end.

St. John’s tried to make a run in the third quarter after trailing by 20 points at halftime but the closest the Johnnies could get was within 18 points as the DePaul offense continued to carve up the Red Storm.

However, the Johnnies did get within 14 points in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter before DePaul ended the game with one last flurry.

Junior Kadaja Bailey also had the best game of the season, finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds on 10-of-13 shooting. .

St. John’s basketball trying to get back in the win column

After its trip to Chicago, the Red Storm will return back to Queens looking to get back in the win column against Marquette.

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The Golden Eagles defeated St. John’s, 66-62, back on December 16 in Milwaukee.

Tipoff is slated for Sunday, January 17 at 2:00pm EST.