March 23, 2012
Third-seeded St. John’s came away with a 74-70 win over Oklahoma on March 20 to advance to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
The game, played on Oklahoma’s home court in front of a raucous crowd, was a close contest from tipoff to the final buzzer with the two teams trading leads throughout. The Red Storm (24-9), who turned 19 Oklahoma turnovers into 21 points, held off a late surge by the Sooners to secure the victory.
Junior guard Eugeneia McPherson led all scorers with 21 points, while Shenneika Smith added 18 and two blocked shots. Nadirah McKenith, who hit the winning shot to beat Creighton on Sunday, had 13 points and seven assists.
"I'm just happy that we came away with it. Oklahoma's a great, great program, a traditionally-rich program, and for us to come into their building and be able to pull out a victory was just tremendous," said head coach Kim Barnes Arico. "I'm excited to still be dancing."
The Red Storm will play No. 2 Duke in the third round of the tournament in Fresno, CA, on Saturday.
Click here to see CBS 2 News at 5 report.