By Dean Koutouratsas (@therealestdk777)
NEW YORK — St. John’s women’s basketball team kicked off its 2026-27 season with a history-making 95-37 win over Lafayette at Carnesecca Arena in Queens on Monday afternoon.
The dominant 58-point triumph marked the second-largest winning margin in program history. The victory is also the team’s largest in a season opener in nearly 47 years.
The win extended the Johnnies’ streak of home-opening wins to 10 straight. Head coach Joe Tartamella improved to 14-1 in season openers as he entered year 15 of his tenure.
“I think for us in terms of what we’ve been watching in the last couple of weeks of trying to build, this was a pretty complete performance for our group,” Tartamella said during a postgame press conference.
From start to finish, St. John’s was able to take control of the contest. Forcing turnovers and getting open shots to fall helped them take a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second stanza, the Red Storm knocked down four shots from long range to outscore the Leopards, 22-9, as they jumped out to a 22-point lead heading into halftime.
From there, the Johnnies tallied a game-high 30 points in the third quarter, making 64.3 percent of their shots from the field and 75 percent from beyond the arc. They went on a 17-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 40 to secure the win in the fourth quarter. In the final 10 minutes, St. John’s held Lafayette without a made field goal and increased its advantage to as much as 60 points.
In the end, the Red Storm made 55.2 percent of its field goals and 52.6 percent of its three-point attempts. Five players scored in double figures, including graduate guard Ny’Ceara Pryor, who led all scorers with 19 points on top of recording four assists and four steals. Reserve guard Janeya Grant contributed 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including four triples. Forward Sa’Mya Wyatt tallied 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, and forward Daniela Abies added 10 points and four rebounds.
“I came back to college for a reason,” Pryor said. “Just being out here and being able to help the young guys when I’m out there, talk to them, show them where they need to be, but also push pace. They are exactly who I am. So, when I’m out there, I have to make sure that I’m leading, and that’s what I did today.”
Freshman Syvannah Dawson found success in her collegiate debut, scoring 11 points with two threes. Fellow freshman Serenity Lancaster recorded eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Reserves Yohana Fami and Olivia Tucker added five points while Sanaa Tripp had four steals and three assists. Overall, the Johnnies finished with 16 assists, 19 steals, 15 second-chance points and 10 three-pointers. On defense, Tartamella’s squad forced 26 turnovers and held Lafayette to just 25% shooting from the field.
After defeating the Leopards in the season opener, St. John’s continues its four-game homestretch when it faces Wagner at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
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