By Kyler Fox (@kylerrfox)
NEW YORK — Facing a two-game losing streak after Thursday’s loss to Penn State in which St. John’s looked listless at points in the second half, the Red Storm flew around the court from the opening tip in its Sunday matchup with Manhattan.
Despite taking nearly four minutes to bury its first bucket, once St. John’s took the lid off the basket, it did not look back.
Led by the heart and soul of the team, redshirt senior Unique Drake, the Red Storm overpowered the visiting Jaspers, coasting to a 67-47 victory.
Drake was far and away the best player on the floor on a chilly Queens afternoon. Manhattan seemingly had no answer for the 5’7 guard, as she continued to produce no matter what the Jaspers threw at her.
Ultimately finishing with 30 points, Drake’s biggest threat was her stroke from deep, as she rattled in seven of her nine attempts. Her performance played a huge factor in the Red Storm’s 45.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc, its highest total from deep in a game this season.
Drake’s offensive output wasn’t the only story of the game, as St. John’s (2-2) played the defensive lanes to the tune of forcing 20 Manhattan turnovers. Sophomore guard Skye Owen led the Red Storm with three of the team’s eight steals, as she continues to mature on a young roster. Owen also added nine points on 3-of-6 shooting to go along with four assists.
While the Red Storm remained in control for the entirety of the game, Manhattan began to cut into the lead early in the second half. As graduate student Jillian Archer found herself in foul trouble, senior forward Jade Blagrove took full advantage for the Jaspers. Posting an extremely efficient 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, Blagrove did everything she could to get Manhattan back into the game. However, once head coach Joe Tartamella was able to get Archer back in the action, Blagrove would finish the fourth quarter scoreless.
Despite committing three early fouls, Archer was still able to log 25 minutes, leading to 13 points and seven rebounds. She also got in on the steal frenzy, recording one.
“I trust her to be out there with whatever number of fouls she has,” Tartamella said of Archer. “She’s pretty smart about how she plays. As far as how she played individually, she did a great job.”
On a day that will be remembered for Drake, the senior guard credited a strong offseason to her early season success, which has seen her average 23 points per game to begin the young campaign.
“I’m always in the gym, putting in the work, talking to Coach T,” Drake said. “[The] offseason really prepared me for this season.”
St. John’s will spend Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico at the Discover Puerto Rico Classic. In the span of three days, the Red Storm will take on VCU, UCF and Jackson State at Roberto Clemente Coliseum, hoping to build on Sunday’s momentum during what should be an extremely competitive tournament in the Caribbean.
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