A missed one-on-one transitional layup from Jailah Donald in the second quarter suggested the game was heading toward St. John’s seventh Big East loss. Instead, a lesson in momentum carried the Red Storm to their eighth conference victory, pulling away from Xavier for a 71-52 win.
“I didn’t think we played with a lot of energy,” head coach Joe Tartamella said of his team’s performance at halftime. “The good part was we were able to cut it to one at the half. In other games, we’ve been down big. I said everyone has to level up a little bit to get us back. I thought we looked lethargic — it wasn’t fun to watch. It was certainly frustrating.”
It was junior Beautiful Waheed who served as the night’s unsung hero, delivering multiple big-time moments, including the icing on the cake — a drained 3-pointer with one minute remaining to put the game away. Waheed finished with 14 points and four steals, tying a season high.
“I like defense,” Waheed said following the game. “Defense gets us offense. Once our steals come, our rebounds come, and we run the floor. We play as a team.”
Don’t let the final score fool you — although St. John’s pulled away for a double-digit win, its offensive execution was concerning. As a team, the Red Storm shot 21-for-53 from the field, including 13-for-24 on layups, with several misses coming in high-percentage situations.
St. John’s got off to a slow offensive start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter on 5-for-15 shooting, largely due to long-running possessions that resulted in forced shots. The ice-cold night, sprinkled with rare defensive miscues, continued to show itself when the Red Storm bit on an inbounds pass during a full-court set, allowing a wide-open basket that pushed the deficit to 28-19.
Following an emphatic yell from Daniela Abies after drawing an offensive foul, momentum shifted in St. John’s favor. The Red Storm responded with a 10-4 run, holding Xavier scoreless for two straight minutes. Janeya Grant capped the surge with a corner 3-pointer, sending St. John’s into halftime trailing just 30-29.
The game flipped entirely in the second half, as St. John’s outscored Xavier 42-21 and held the Musketeers to 9-for-30 shooting. For Xavier, it was a one-woman show, with Ole Miss transfer Mariyah Noel scoring 20 points on 9-for-20 shooting while grabbing 11 rebounds.
With six games remaining, St. John’s sits at 8-6 in Big East play and 18-7 overall, second only to UConn. The Red Storm will close the regular season against the Huskies on March 1 in the program’s first-ever standalone game at Madison Square Garden.
Before then, St. John’s returns to action Feb. 7 at Carnesecca Arena against Seton Hall (9-4 Big East, 15-7 overall) in a matchup that could significantly impact Big East tournament seeding.