March 8, 2004

Box Score

Hartford, Conn. - The 11th seeded St. John's women's basketball team fell 84-59 in the first round of the 2004 BIG EAST Tournament to #6 West Virginia. St. John's finishes the 2003-04 season with a 10-18 overall record. West Virginia is 20-9 and will face the third seed, Villanova in the quarterfinals tomorrow night.

The Red Storm's appearance in the 2004 tournament is the teams first since losing in the first round in 2001.

Led by Yolanda Paige's game-high 22 points, the Mountaineers finished with five players in double-figures and committed only nine turnovers en route to the win.

West Virginia pulled ahead early in the first half, before a three-point play by Nora Gyuris (Pecs, Hungary) cut the lead to 9-5. The Mountaineers' Meg Bulger hit a three, kicking off a 7-0 run, which was eventually snapped by a jumper from Reka Szavuly (Miskolc, Hungary), making the score 23-16. West Virginia did not let up and went on another run, a 10-0 swing over a 4 = minute span to build a 44-21 lead.

Danielle Chambers' (Brooklyn, N.Y.) basket with 18.2 was the final score of the first half, as West Virginia's buzzer beating attempt fell short and the teams went to the lockers with the Mountaineers up 49-30.

St. John's had 10 turnovers in the first period, resulting in a 14 West Virginia points.

The Mountaineers' fast paced offense continued to attack in the second half as they pulled out to their largest lead, a 64-36 advantage after a 13-2 run early in the period. Kati Kurtosi (Miskolc, Hungary) hit a jumper to end the streak and kicked off a 6-0 swing by the Red Storm, who pulled within 23 minutes later after a three-point play by freshman Angie Clark.

A made three by Shemika Stevens (New York, NY) with 2:27 to play brought St. John's within 22, the closest they would come.