Aliyyah Handford reaches 2,000 points as St. John’s advances to Big East semifinals
St. John's Aliyyah Handford (3) scores on a fast break against Connecticut during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP / Jason DeCrow
Aliyyah Handford scored five of her 22 points in a 23-7 run in the final 14 minutes as the St. John’s women’s basketball team surged past Georgetown, 65-52, in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal last night in Chicago.
St. John’s (21-9), which allowed the Hoyas (16-13) to score only five points in the fourth quarter, will play top-seeded DePaul (25-7) in tonight’s semifinals. It’s the third straight year that the Red Storm has reached the conference semifinals.
Handford became the fourth player in St. John’s basketball history, men’s or women’s, to reach 2,000 points, joining Chris Mullin, Malik Sealy and D’Angelo Harrison. She has 2,014. Handford added six rebounds, five steals and two assists. Danaejah Grant had 18 points.
“I thought we really grinded the game out,” coach Joe Tartamella said in a release issued by the university. “I was very proud of our effort. Obviously, it’s a big game for us on many levels, so I’m excited that we were able to get to the next round, get a little closer to the championship game, and then to watch [Handford and Grant] play very well for us as they normally do, along with the rest of our team. We’ll go enjoy this for about a minute and get ready for tomorrow.”
Dorothy Adomako scored 15 points for the Hoyas.
