By Nick Pipitone

There were plenty of stories surrounding the Pride women’s basketball team and its match up with St. John’s this past Sunday.

There was the return of Hempstead native Lisa Claxton, who almost signed with the Pride but opted to go to St. John’s instead. The game was also the rubber match after the 13-point loss the Pride suffered last year in Jamaica, N.Y., a game some players said “left a bitter taste in our mouths.”

Yet, at the end of the game, the one thing that stood out most was junior center Vanessa Gidden’s emergence as a prominent center in the college ranks.

“I never thought about my half. It was just about getting the team together to win this game. We knew in our hearts we could win today but we just came up short,” Gidden said. “My teammates just make me look good out there. They’re the ones that keep pushing the ball to me on the inside and helping me.”

Gidden posted 20 points, 12 boards and two blocks, but it was not enough, as area rival St. John’s outlasted the Pride (4-3), 71-65, at Hofstra Arena. In a game dubbed by Pride junior forward Lizanne Murphy as one for “New York bragging rights,” the Red Storm (8-1) proved that it is in fact the best team in the Metropolitan area, winning its 10th-straight over the Pride. However, it’s also clear the Pride is not far behind.

“I think they’re really improved and they’ve improved throughout the years,” St. John’s head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “They have some quick kids and some great size. I knew they were going to be a great match up and they will be very successful in their conference this year.”

The loss was the Pride’s first in over two weeks, halting a two-game winning streak. The team returns to action Dec. 22 when it travels to Connecticut to face the five-time national champion Huskies.

This past Sunday, the combination of Red Storm juniors Angela Clark and Kia Wright, along with a strong transition game, were too much for the Pride to handle. Clark and Wright combined for 27 points and 17 boards, negating good efforts from Gidden and junior forward Lana Harshaw (10 points). In addition, the Red Storm’s fast-paced style often caught the Pride off-guard, as it scored 22 points off turnovers and 10 on the break.

The Pride went into halftime trailing by five, in large part because of a Murphy three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining. The Blue & Gold never held a lead in the first half, but managed to jump ahead of St. John’s at the 12:15 mark of the second half after a Harshaw jumper.

For the remainder of the game, the Pride and the Red Storm traded blows, with the lead switching three more times. With the game knotted at 52 and only seven minutes left, Claxton drained a three-pointer just before the shot clock expired. From that point on, the Pride came close, but could not surmount the Red Storm.

Gidden, in arguably her best performance far this season, almost willed the Pride to win in the final six minutes of the half, going to the line four times and hitting all but one shot.

“We want to have our season played from the inside out and tonight was a night where our inside game really took off,” Jack said. “It would’ve been nice to hit a couple of them outside shots to open up the inside a little bit, but we were poised and patient and we took what they gave us from the post.”

Gidden’s last two free throws closed the gap to 65-63 with only 1:30 remaining. The Red Storm responded with a Clark jumper that widened the gap back to four, but was quickly answered by Gidden again, who sank a jumper of her own that narrowed the lead to two.

With 20 seconds remaining and trailing by two, the Pride needed a key defensive stop to retain possession while the lead was still within reach. But, as she had done throughout the entire game, Wright weaved through the Pride defense to lay up the final bucket that would seal the win.

“Tonight was certainly a dog fight because no one was willing to relinquish this game very easily,” Jack said. “My hat goes off to St. John’s, but I’m certainly proud of my kids as well.”