INDIANAPOLIS – St. John's posted a 60-49 win at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday night to break up the three-way tie for third place in the BIG EAST conference standings. Aliyyah Handford led the Red Storm to victory with a game-high 21 points.

St. John's outscored Butler by 11 points in the first half and that advantage would hold true throughout the entire second half as the Red Storm improved to 11-6 in BIG EAST action. With the loss, Butler falls to 14-14 overall which includes a 10-7 mark against conference foes.

Handford filled up the box score for St. John's with 21 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Butler's Lexus Murry nearly matched her stat line with a career-high 17 points off the bench to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal, but the first half deficit was just too much to overcome.

Murry and Langlois were the only two Bulldogs to reach double figures in the low scoring contest that featured 35 percent shooting from BU and 40 percent from STJ. Langlois hit three of her six shots from behind the arc to net 15, all of which came in the final 20 minutes of the contest.

Friday night's game was the fourth game of the all-time series and the first for a team to reach 60 points. The Red Storm swept the season series a year ago by recording two 58-55 wins and Butler took the first matchup of this season with a 55-50 win on Fox Sports 1. Each sideline knew the game would be a close, defensive battle, but the Red Storm earned the victory with three players reaching double figure scoring totals.

Handford shot 8-for-20 from the field and 5-for-6 from the stripe to pace the Red Storm offense. Danaejah Grant chipped in with 13 and Jade Walker did her part with 10. The Red Storm never trailed in the game after getting off to a 7-2 start. The Bulldogs got within five early in the second half after a 3-point field goal from Langlois, but the Red Storm answered with a 6-0 run moments later to push the lead back to double figures where it would stay for the rest of the night.

Points in the paint heavily favored St. John's (38-20) as the Red Storm used their size near the basket to get the advantage down low. STJ also outrebounded Butler 43-30.

Butler turnovers were also a key to the downfall on Friday night as the Red Storm recorded 10 steals which helped them score 10 fast break points. Handford and Aaliyah Lewis combined for seven of the 10 steals which helped the Red Storm get to the finish line.

The loss was a big blow to Butler who entered tonight in a three-way tie with St. John's and Villanova for third place in the conference standings. Villanova held a comfortable lead over Providence at the half and Creighton, who was also in the mix for spots 4-6 in the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament, defeated Georgetown on the road.

Butler will return to Hinkle on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tip vs. Seton Hall. The Pirates defeated Xavier on Friday night and will be playing for the conference championship on the first of the month.