St. John’s Red Storm senior All-American guard Aliyyah Handford set the school’s women’s career scoring record on February 26, 2016.
On her home court in Carnesecca Arena, Handford broke the existing school record set by Ling Ling Hou in 1980. Coming into the game Handford needed five points to break Hou’s record of 1,950 career points.
Playing against the 5-21 Providence Friars, Handford broke the record at 3:49 of the first quarter with a short jumper in the lane after grabbing a loose ball.
The Red Storm won the game 69-54. Handford and her teammate Danaejah Grant were the leading scorers in the game, each with 27 points. Handford had a game-high 3 steals and four assists. The win gave the Red Storm’s a record of 20-8.
In an era where both pro and collegiate teams have fallen in love with the three-point shot, Handford is a throwback. She rarely takes three-point shots. In the game against the Friars, she took just one three.
And despite being one of the go-to scorers on the Red Storm, Handford has been an unselfish team player. You always got the sense that she could have taken more shots if she wanted, particularly from the outside. But she played in the team construct.
Although she is from Newark, NJ, Handford is the quintessential New York City ballplayer, driving and slashing to the hoop, going in for a layup, pulling up the jumper, or dishing off. Many of her steals have led to uncontested fast-break lay-ups.
