The St. John’s women’s basketball team had to be feeling pretty good about itself on Wednesday night after coming closer than any other team to beating Connecticut in conference play.
The Red Storm did lose 66-52 but still moved up to No. 22 in the Associated Press poll released Monday night — the highest ranking it achieved since the 1983-’84 season.
Then St. John’s recorded its first victory ever over a top-five opponent when it upset Notre Dame, 76-71, Tuesday night. Shenneika Smith had 23 points and 10 rebounds while Da’Shena Stevens added 21 points and 11 boards for the Red Storm.
The loss snapped Notre Dame’s eight-game win streak since losing 70-46 at Connecticut on Jan. 16.
Oklahoman scare
Oklahoma gave top-ranked Connecticut the kind of second-half scare it has rarely seen as it streaks toward the history books.
Tiffany Hayes scored 20 points, Maya Moore added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Connecticut trailed after halftime for only the second time this season before pulling away to beat the Sooners, 76-70, Monday night and extend its unbeaten streak to 65 straight games.
The Huskies needed a 13-2 run, which included six points from Moore, to seal the last non-conference win of the regular season for Connecticut.
The Huskies trailed with 16 minutes to play — the latest they’ve trailed this season — before the run to end the game.
Oklahoma rallied from a 14-point, first half deficit and led by one point on three occasions before Connecticut clamped down and started forcing the Sooners to settle for jump shots.
Two games to watch
Notre Dame at Georgetown, Saturday, Feb. 20
The Hoyas first took care of business against a talented South Florida team Wednesday night and are coming off a 55-46 loss at West Virginia on Sunday. Georgetown shot just 23 percent against the Mountaineers and scored only 19 points in the first half. Notre Dame will also look to bounce back from its loss to St. John’s and find itself two games back of Connecticut in conference play. The Irish are led by Skylar Diggins’ 14.3 points per game.
Syracuse at Rutgers, Sunday, Feb. 21
This game features two teams that have to be disappointed with their seasons thus far. The Scarlet Knights had begun to turn things around a bit, winning three straight games before falling to West Virginia, 55-51, Tuesday night, and will look to Brittany Ray (15 ppg) to keep the ball rolling. The Orange take a 5-7 conference record into the game. They defeated Rutgers 79-66 at home earlier this season.
Player of the week
Becca Bruszewski, Notre Dame Junior F.
Bruszewski averaged 19.5 ppg, 5 rebounds per game and 3 assists per game last week in leading the Irish to consecutive wins. Bruszewski finished the week 17-of-28 from the floor including a 10-of-17 performance in the Irish’s 90-66 win over DePaul Sunday afternoon. She also poured in 14 points and eight rebounds in Notre Dame’s 66-50 win at Cincinnati on Feb. 9.
