Storm women top Oklahoma; Duke next

NORMAN, Okla. -- Eugeneia McPherson knew the crowd would be deafening. Facing Oklahoma on its own court in the second round of the NCAA Tournament would be as tough of a challenge as any St. John's had faced all season.

But McPherson said she knew one sure way to quiet the Sooners faithful and that was to win. And that is what the Red Storm did. St. John's won, 74-70, last night to earn a spot in the program's first ever Sweet 16. But the victory didn't come easily.

Leading 72-70, Amber Thompson went to the free throw line for St. John's. She hit 1 of 2 with less than a minute left in the game. Oklahoma's Aaryn Ellenberg missed a game-tying three-pointer and the Sooners were forced to foul Nadirah McKenith to stop the clock. She also made only one from the line stripe, but St. John's still led by four.

The Sooners had four chances to close the gap, but misfired on each shot. When the buzzer sounded, the Red Storm rushed the court and celebrated its second hard-fought win of the tournament.

McPherson led all scorers with 21 points, shooting 6-for-14. Shenneika Smith added 18 points and two blocked shots.

Oklahoma's Whitney Hand scored 16 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss.

The Red Storm (24-9) forced 19 turnovers while giving the ball away only eight times. That was the difference in the game.

Third-seeded St. John's will play No. 2 Duke in the third round.

Halfway through the first half, the Red Storm was shooting a paltry 20 percent from the field. Its jump shots were way off the mark and it was missing layups.

The only thing that kept St. John's from getting blown off the court early was its defense. Oklahoma was shooting only 30 percent and had turned the ball over multiple times. The game was tied 11-11 at the 10- minute mark.

Behind McPherson, the Red Storm fought its way out of the offensive inefficiency and opened a nine-point lead. But in the last two minutes of the half, the Sooners stormed back to trail only 39-36 at halftime.

However, the Sooners (21-13) came out of the intermission firing on all cylinders. Ellenberg, who had been held to two points in the first half, scored six quick points in the first five minutes to push Oklahoma in front 52-50.

As the fouls began to mount, the Red Storm let its emotions get the best of it. The pressure of being knocked out of the second round again began to show as the players argued every foul called and not called.

With its offense still shooting around 40 percent, St. John's turned to its defense to continually dig itself out of trouble. Each time the Sooners made a run that got the crowd on its feet and back into the game, St. John's came up with a turnover that it turned into fast-break points.