St. John's down USC on last-second 3-pointer
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Knoxville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Briana Brown's only bucket of the game came on a 3-pointer with less than a second remaining to lift the eighth- seeded St. John's Red Storm over the ninth-seeded USC Trojans, 71-68, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Aliyyah Handford put up 27 points to lead the Red Storm (23-10), who advance to the second round to take on Tennessee. Amber Thompson was stellar in the paint with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
For USC (22-13), Brianna Barrett shot 12-of-13 from the free-throw line on her way to 24 points, Ariya Crook poured in 16 points and Alexyz Vaioletama grabbed 11 rebounds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
USC outshot St. John's from the field in the first half, 42.4 percent to 40.7 percent, as it held a 40-35 advantage at the break.
The Red Storm held their first lead of the game with 3:07 left following a Keylantra Langley bucket and they extended their advantage to three, 68-65, with just 1:39 to play on a Thompson layup. USC answered on its next possession when Crook knocked down the game-tying 3-pointer. St. John's called a timeout with 25 seconds left to set up its last possession, and Brown connected on the game-winning 3-pointer. USC's desperation heave at the buzzer did not fall and St. John's held on for the thrilling win.
Both St. John's (27-of-33) and USC (24-of-31) were active and effective from the free-throw line.