Sports

St. John’s women advance in Big East tournament

HARTFORD, Conn. — Shenneika Smith scored 16 points to lead fifth-seeded St. John’s to a 51-45 win over Seton Hall on Saturday in the second round of the Big East women’s basketball tournament.

The Red Storm (18-11) will face No. 4 seed Louisville on Sunday in the quarterfinals.

“This was a big win on many levels,” St. John’s coach Joe Tartamella said. “It was a win we gutted out. Briana Brown put us on her back toward the end there.”

St. John’s trailed early on before going into the half up 24-18. Seton Hall took a 33-32 lead with 9:15 left, but Briana Brown answered with a 3-pointer and St. John’s led the rest of the way.

The Red Storm are trying to bolster their NCAA tournament resume. The school is hosting the first two rounds and hopes to be in it.

“The next game is our biggest game,” Smith said. “We have to go out there and remember we lost to them the other day. Every game is important. Every game we try to play hard.”

Brittany Morris scored 13 to lead Seton Hall (11-20), which beat Cincinnati in the opening round of the Big East tournament. The loss brought an end to coach Anne Donovan’s three-year career at Seton Hall. She will head back to the WNBA to coach the Connecticut Sun.

“It’s really rewarding to sit here and know we were in a game that would have gotten us to the next round,” Donovan said. “We worked so hard over these three years to turn the program around. I’m very nostalgic to think about leaving it but proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”