The Seton Hall women's basketball team suffered a 21-point loss to No. 25 St. John's on Sunday at Walsh Gymnasium.
It was the second time this season that the Red Storm defeated Seton Hall. On Jan. 12, the Pirates visited Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY and lost by 20 points as well.
Sunday's loss was also the seventh loss of 20 points or more for the Pirates (9-14, 1-9 in Big East Play) this season.
The Hall, perhaps looking to keep momentum after earning its first Big East win on Jan. 30 at Villanova, held off St. John's until the final minutes.
Guard Ebonie Williams hit a three from the left wing and guard Terry Green scored inside, making it 58-45 with about three minutes left to play.
It was as close as Seton Hall could get.
The Pirates tried to force turnovers by utilizing a full court press against the Red Storm with 8:23 still on the clock. However, St. John's was able to easily beat the pressure and convert multiple fast breaks, earning a total of 14 points in transition for the game.
Seton Hall also failed to make smart decisions with the ball, turning it over 21 times and allowing St. John's to score 24 points from those errors. By contrast, the Red Storm only committed six turnovers.
Head coach Phyllis Mangina said that the team's own transition game hurt them.
"Our guards aren't handling the ball vs. theirs," Mangina said. "24 points off turnovers. We didn't have to do much. We practically gave them the ball. We forced shots and they got out and ran."
With just over 13 minutes left in the game, forward Kandice Green grabbed an offensive board and was able to make the put back and the foul shot for a three-point play. But St. John's came back with a tough full court defense, forcing another Hall turnover, which led to a three-pointer, and the first double-digit lead of the game for St. John's.
St. John's used the second half to outscore Seton Hall by 20 points. Throughout the first half, however, the Pirates battled neck-in-neck for the lead until the Red Storm scored with 17.9 seconds left before the break, putting them up by one point before halftime.
The Red Storm took the lead for the first time with 3:15 left in the first half. Terry Green blocked a shot with 2:45 remaining, however, St. John's Kelly McManmon converted on a three-point attempt to extend St. John's lead to four points with 2:32 on the clock prior to halftime.
Williams scored 12 points, shooting 2-3 from behind the arc. Kandice Green scored 15 points and grabbed 17 boards.
"They got good offensive pressure," Mangina said. "They're good at four or five places. They're spread out."
The Pirates still have six more Big East games this season, including a rivalry matchup with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (13-10, 5-4) at 7:30 p.m. at the Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway on Wednesday.
Krissy Wrobel can be reached at kristine.wrobel@student.shu.edu.
