McManmon, Hart each score 11 points to lead No. 25 St. John’s over Seton Hall 66-45
By APSunday, February 7, 2010
No. 25 St. John’s rolls past Seton Hall 66-45
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Kelly McManmon and Centhya Hart each scored 11 points to lead No. 25 St. John’s to a 66-45 win over Seton Hall on Sunday.
St. John’s had five players in double figures, with Shenneika Smith, Da’Shena Stevens and Nadirah McKenith all adding 10 points each.
The win was the sixth in the last seven games for the Red Storm (19-4, 7-3 Big East), who entered the Top 25 last week for the first time all season, then dropped a road contest to Georgetown on Tuesday night.
McManmon scored five straight points at the end of the first half to give the Red Storm its first lead at 26-22. St. John’s then put the game away in the second half outscoring Seton Hall 40-20.
Kandice Green had 15 points and 17 rebounds and Ebonie Williams added 12 points for Seton Hall (9-14, 1-9).
The two teams played close to the vest during a slow-paced first half, with the Pirates holding the lead for most of the half. McManmon hit a corner jumper with 3:08 left that gave the Red Storm the lead for good at 23-22, then canned a long 3-pointer 24 seconds later that pushed the lead to 26-22.
Williams hit a 3-pointer with 1:20 left before intermission that sliced the deficit to 26-25 at the break.
St. John’s then increased the lead in the opening stages of the second half, going on an 8-0 run over a span of 1:21 to push it to 36-27 with 15:01 remaining. Smith scored on consecutive driving shots and Hart keyed the run with a power move down low.
McManmon then finished a 14-7 run with another long 3-pointer as the Red Storm pulled ahead 50-36 lead with 8:44 remaining. McManmon hit another 3-pointer in that run and Stevens added four during that stretch.
Seton Hall never got any closer and scored just nine points the rest of the way. The Pirates shot just 32 percent in the second half, while St. John’s clicked at 48 percent.
