Jamaica, N.Y.  The St. Johns womens basketball team dropped a 68-51 decision to the University of Miami tonight at Alumni Hall. The Red Storm trailed by one at the half, 29-28, but then allowed the Hurricanes to dominate the second half.

The first half was a back and forth battle between the teams, with the lead changing hands 12 times. The Red Storm was down 22-19 when senior Rasheedah Brown (Newark, N.J.) hit her second three of the night, to tie the game at 22. Miami took their largest lead (26-22) with a 4-0 run. Sophomore Shemika Stevens (New York, N.Y.) then stepped up, grabbing a defensive rebound and dishing the ball to freshman Patrycja Gulak (Olsztyn, Poland) for a layup, cutting the lead to two. Stevens would then grab two more rebounds and a steal before connecting on two free throws to tie the game at 26-26. A free throw and a layup would give the Hurricanes the 29-26 lead, but Stevens would cut the lead to one with a fast break. The Red Storm controlled the boards in the first half, outrebounding the Hurricanes 24-15, and Brown led all scorers with 12 points in the first 20 minutes of play. Still, SJU went into the break trailing 29-28.

The Hurricanes controlled the second half, outscoring the Red Storm 39-23. Miami used a 15-0 run, keeping St. Johns scoreless for over five minutes, to seal the win. Brown was held to just seven second half points, while the team shot just 24.0 percent in the half. Miami also stepped up on the boards, grabbing 28 rebounds to the Red Storms 13.

Brown led all scorers with 19 points and pulled down five rebounds. Stevens had 10 points on the night, notching back-to-back double figure games. Stevens also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and continued her hold on free throw percentage in BIG EAST games, knocking down six of six from the line. Gulak had an all-around strong night, recording seven points, five rebounds, a game-high six assists, and three steals.

Miami had three players post double figures, led by Meghan Saake with 17. Saake connected on 3-of-3 from three-point range and hit 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Shaquana Williams and Chanivia Broussard had 13 and 12, respectively.

With the win, Miami improves to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in the BIG EAST, and the Red Storm fall to 3-15 and 0-7.

The Red Storm return to action this Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2pm when they take on Georgetown in Washington, D.C.