NEW YORK CITY—Just nine months ago, St. John’s made a Cinderella run in the tournament, only to be cut short in the regional semifinals by Duke. The Red Storm sought revenge this Sunday against the Blue Devils, but did not find it.
No. 4 Duke defeated St. John’s 60-42 at Madison Square Garden Sunday afternoon, giving the Blue Devils (8-0) five consecutive victories against the Red Storm (4-3).
The teams came out in the first half playing fairly evenly. Whether it was the jitters of Madison Square Garden or the fatigue of travel, head coach Joanne P. McCallie was not pleased with the Blue Devils’ opening minutes.
“We came out pretty flat defensively initially and traded baskets,” McCallie said. “Defensively we were a step slow.”
Despite the slow start, Duke found its rhythm with a 15-2 run behind sophomore center Elizabeth Williams. The center was assertive on both ends, finishing a big three-point play midway through the first period and defending the Blue Devils’ basket with huge blocks.
St. John’s head coach Joe Tartamella had high praise for Williams, who recorded a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. “She’s a great player,” Tartamella said. “She’s an All-American… has tremendous talent, and she’s stepped up for [Duke].”
On the other side of the floor, aggressive guard Nadirah McKenith led the Red Storm with 19 points and two steals. Without much help offensively, however, she also turned the ball over eight times.
Duke, on the other hand, had scoring depth as junior Haley Peters added 11 points along with five rebounds. Peters played well in tandem with Williams—high-low action between the two frontcourt players resulted in quality shots throughout the game.
Ka’lia Johnson was an important addition off the bench for Duke, scoring 10 points in 23 minutes. Four of the sophomore’s points came off explosive backdoor cuts, which resulted in easy layups.
McCallie recognized the spark she provided, scoring 10 of the Blue Devils’ 14 bench points.
“I thought Ka’lia Johnson off the bench was a big X-factor for us,” McCallie said. The Blue Devils extended their lead even further in the final two minutes of the first half, thanks in no small part to two picturesque jumpers from junior Tricia Liston. St. John’s lost coverage discipline on two consecutive possessions, and Liston punished this indiscretion with back-to-back 3-pointers, extending Duke’s lead to 13.
Those two shots were her only makes of the game, but they were critical in giving Duke a cushion.
“Tricia is a tough competitor,” McCallie said. “Those two threes were pretty big I would say. Answering the bell there… coming off the screens the way she did. She’s a tough competitor.”
The Blue Devils’ lead did not fall below 11 for the rest of the game. McCallie mixed in 2-3 and 3-2 trapping zones, along with man-to-man and full court pressure. Although it was not flawless, Duke’s defense did well in limiting the Red Storm’s opportunities throughout the second half.
St. John’s fought to keep things close, but struggled to find its shooting touch. The loss of combo guard Aliyyah Handford, who fouled out with just over 10 minutes to play, appeared to be a demoralizing blow for the Red Storm.
Although another double-digit victory is certainly encouraging for the Blue Devils, they still acknowledged that there is room for improvement, as they have after every victory this season.
Duke does not play again until Dec. 21 with final exams taking place during the next week, and Williams said the team will use that time to improve its offensive efficiency after a season-low 60-point effort.
“There were times when we weren’t very patient,” Williams said. “We took shots early in the shot clock when [we] could have kept running our offense. We know better and we can improve.”
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