March 7th, 2016: St. John's at DePaul (Big East tournament)

Just the Facts, Ma'am: A 34-point quarter powered St. John's to a comeback upset win over top seed DePaul, 75-66. Aliyyah Handford had a game-high 23 points, 18 in the second half. Danaejah Grant had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Ashton Millender's 15 off the bench led DePaul.

For thrills, chills, senior leadership, freshman game, rocking out, and Aliyyah rising, join your intrepid and squeeful blogger after the jump.
Time to shake it off. Shake it all off. St. John's has the toughest task of the tournament ahead of them, taking on the top-seeded Blue Demons in DePaul's home building.

Band is here in full force, albeit with a substitute director, and in full throat. Dance and cheer are at half speed. Our band is better than theirs.

At halftime, DePaul is up 34-28, in a game that's fit DePaul's style more than St. John's. Megan Podkowa has 9 for DePaul; Akina Wellere and Danaejah Grant each have 7 for the Red Storm.

They actually went out and got halftime entertainment for this session. This game has a tumbling team that has done some amazing runs.

We have to play our game, not theirs. We have to get to the basket and make the hot pass.

WE GOIN TO THE SHIP WE GOIN TO THE SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP YOU FUCKIN BEAUTIES

Ahem. Sorry. Lost a little bit of control there. I'm still a bit excited. And also on a bit of a sugar high from my Blizzard and finishing my husband's. And then there's the caffeine kick too. We needed this win.

Akina Wellere chose the best possible day to have the best game of her Red Storm career. She came up with huge threes. She had a monster block on Brooke Schulte on a break, and scooped up a steal from a defensive play by Crystal Simmons. She did everything we asked of her, and then some. Crystal Simmons brought the defense. That's all we asked of her- she and Akina were swapping in and out at almost every stoppage, depending on possession. Jade Walker had a couple of moments where I was shaking my head, and I really need her to lay off shooting those threes and loooong twos until she proves she can add them consistently to her outside arsenal. She brought some toughness when we needed it, though.

Imani Littleton brought the defense today- sometimes a little too much. She crashed the boards well too. She needs to be more careful with her hands and positioning, but I love what she can give us. Sandra Udobi battled through discomfort to hold down the fort down low. She needed to be in position, but I know she's giving everything she has, even when it's not enough.

Aaliyah Lewis is so tough and so fearless and so feisty. There's a reason she's my mom's favorite (and I'm starting to get the sense that everyone's mom has her as their favorite). She runs the show. She has such incredible ups that her vertical can counter her lack of size. She doesn't always take a lot of shots, but today we needed her to be more of an offensive threat, and we got it from her in the clutch. She provided part of the outside threat we were missing. Danaejah Grant was beasting defensively, deflecting shots and getting a huuuuuuge block on Megan Podkowa. She hit big threes, because that's how she rolls. She's the rock-solid foundation of what we do. Aliyyah Handford is a superstar. This game said volumes about her mental makeup. She's had foul trouble in most of her games down the stretch- well, tonight she stayed out of foul trouble. She broke loose on the fast break and fired up the offense. She decided that she wasn't losing to DePaul again and took over the fourth quarter. She imposed her will on the game.

Tanita Allen played very briefly- she was mostly in when Chanise Jenkins fouled out. She hit a lay-up very late, when St. John's was conceding the lane to avoid the foul. Mart'e Grays was phenomenal on the boards, sliding into space. Ashton Millender has a very nice knack for taking broken plays and making something of them. And as a defensive specialist, of course, her best offensive weapon is the corner three. It's what defensive-minded players do. I just really like her.

Please, tell me more about Chanise Jenkins as Big East player of the year. I know you can't judge on one or two games, but the jack of all trades is the master of none. She shot better than I thought looking at her, but a couple of those came late, again, when the lane was being conceded to prevent the foul. At least she gave up on the pigtails, because they don't work for her. Jessica January was wild, even on shots right at the rim. Her drives were contested, but I've seen her hit those contested drives in the past. Brooke Schulte was unremarkable- she had a lot of defense on her, so I'm not surprised.

Megan Podkowa created mismatches and got buckets. She drew a lot of contact because she was too quick for our posts (who either lumber or don't react well) and she converted at the line. She had a strong defensive play in the first quarter. Jacqui Grant is a fantastic rebounder, and in this one she showed her offensive prowess as well. She doesn't seem like she has an outside jumper until she takes it. She smashed Danaejah on a monster block in the third quarter. I have to check her remaining eligibility, but it seems like she's the perfect fit for DePaul, with their emphasis on rebounding and outside shooting.

DePaul had mixed successs with a smaller lineup, but it's a move that I agreed with- they wanted to go faster, and the best way to go about it was to put in the guards.

We always question the officiating, but I do side-eye a game where the team that depends most heavily on the dribble-drive draws fewer free throws until the foul derby starts. I was pleasantly surprised that things didn't go too crazy with Aaliyah Lewis and Chanise Jenkins, who were going at each other most of the night.

I was very surprised that Doug Bruno called for the foul derby as quickly as he did. 1:45 with a six-point deficit to overcome is pretty reasonable for a team that shoots as well as DePaul usually does.

We may have been outnumbered, but we weren't always outyelled (as the soreness in my throat can tell you). The bleachers got stomped and then some.

Let's see what we've got left for the 'ship. But win or lose against Creighton, this game was worth the trip.