STORRS, CONN. - No. 23-ranked Villanova University shot 58.3 percent in the first half and finished with three players in double figures as the Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2001 BIG EAST Tournament with a 63-41 victory over the St. John's Red Storm Saturday afternoon in Gampel Pavilion.

The Red Storm, the #12 seed in the tournament, finish the season with an 8-20 overall record, and were 3-13 in league play. The Wildcats, the #5 seed in the tournament, improve to 21-7 overall and will take on #4 Virginia Tech tomorrow afternoon in the first quarterfinal game at noon.

Villanova had a solid first half, making 14-of-24 from the floor. The Red Storm managed just five field goals in the opening half and trailed by 21 at intermission.

In the second half, the Red Storm stepped it up and played with much more determination and aggressiveness. St. John's opened the half with back-to-back jumpers by junior Telisha Warner (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and freshman Sherri Brown (Willingboro, N.J.). From there the Red Storm played the Wildcats even for the remainder of the game, committing just two turnovers in the entire second half. For the game, the team tied a season-low with just nine turnovers.

Nine different Red Storm players contributed to the scoring on the afternoon. Senior Latasha Thompson (Newark, N.J.) keyed the Red Storm offense with 12 points including three three-pointers. She finishes her remarkable career in 10th place on St. John's all-time scoring list with 1,073 career points. All-BIG EAST third-team selection Brandi Barnes led all scorers with 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting for Villanova.

The Red Storm are now 2-4 all-time against Villanova in BIG EAST Tournament play, and 16-16 overall in tournament action.