UC Irvine Women Fall to St. John’s, 82-68, in Round 1 of Freedom Bowl Tournament

Forwards Maureen Conley and Dolores Dixon made a combined 17 of 26 shots from the field Friday to lead the St. John’s women’s basketball team to an 82-68 victory over UC Irvine in the opening game of the Freedom Bowl tournament in the Bren Center.

Conley, a 6-foot junior, made of 11 of 15 shots, including a three-pointer, and all three free throws for 26 points. Dixon, a 5-10 senior, scored 14 points.

St. John’s will meet Colorado, a 76-50 winner over Creighton Friday, in the championship game today at 3 p.m. UCI and Creighton play in the consolation game at 1.

St. John’s jumped to a 19-9 lead with 13:31 left in the half and led by 20 (50-30) at halftime. Irvine cut the lead to 11 midway through the second half, but got no closer.

The Anteaters had only three players in double figures, and only center Natalie Crawford (16 points) scored more than 11. UCI shot 37% from the field, and St. John’s shot 53%.

Colorado was led by guard Tracy Tripp’s 15 points and forward Bridget Turner’s 14.