After finishing their previous game with only four players, St. John's was able to close out UC Santa Barbara with a full complement of five - including Shenneika Smith.
She scored 15 points and Sky Lindsay added a season-high 13 to lead No. 18 St. John's to a 56-47 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Sunday.
''I can't say how proud I am of the young ladies with what we went through the last 24 hours,'' Red Storm coach Kim Barnes Arico said after St. John's 10th straight win. ''We were the walking wounded.''
Smith scored 10 straight points for the Red Storm (10-1) in the second half, sparking a late run to stretch the lead to 51-37 with 4:52 play. She finished off the spurt with a nifty running layup in the lane. She also had nine rebounds and three blocks in the Red Storm's 10th straight win.
She showed few, if any, signs of the ankle injury that that forced her out of the 81-50 win over Mississippi State. She went down in that game with 2:14 to play, forcing St. John's to finish with four on the floor.
''I'm in a little bit of pain,'' Smith said after the game. ''In the first half I was just getting comfortable. It didn't get any better.''
Kelsey Adrian led the Gauchos (5-6) with 10 points.
The Red Storm played without star forward Da'Shena Stevens, who sat out with a concussion. Lindsay, Nadirah McKenith, and Centhya Hart also were hurt the night before.
Now, they have some time off to heal.
We don't play again for nine days,'' Barnes-Arico said. ''That adds up to 68,000 minutes. I told them they could have 68,000 minutes of rest.''
