NEW YORK -- Da'Shena Stevens scored 21 points and St. John's (No. 25 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) won its seventh consecutive game, defeating Villanova 69-49 in a Big East game Saturday.
Eugeneia McPherson scored 11 of her 13 points in the first half for the Red Storm (20-8, 12-3), who shot 51.9 percent (14 of 27) to take a 36-26 lead at the break.St. John's used a 13-2 run to take a 49-30 lead with 13:29 remaining, and the Wildcats (15-13, 5-10), who lost their fifth straight, never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.Nadirah McKenith added 11 points and Shenneika Smith 10 for the Red Storm.St. John's will close its regular season Monday night at Georgetown (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) before beginning play in the Big East tournament, in which it has a bye into the quarterfinals March 4.Lindsay Kimmel scored 11 and Emily Leer 10 to lead Villanova.
