St. John’s basketball: Joe Tartamella breaks all-time wins record

St. John’s basketball head coach Joe Tartamella is the program’s all-time winningest coach. 

History was made inside Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday night as Joe Tartamella became the all-time wins leader in St. John’s basketball women’s program.

Tartamella and the Johnnies (7-14, 3-8 Big East) defeated Xavier (7-13, 2-9 Big East), 83-63, as the head coach earned victory No. 177 with the Red Storm.

“It’s an emotional moment in many ways, but also a moment you can’t put into words regardless of when you think you’re ready to talk about it. You think about all the people that were here and that were a part of it,” Tartamella said of his new record.

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The head coach surpassed Kim Barnes-Arico, the current Michigan head coach, on the wins list after serving as an assistant coach under Barnes-Arico from 2005-2012 before she left for Ann Arbor.

All five starters for St. John’s posted double digits in the game as the team was led by star guard Leilani Correa with 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists on 8-of-13 shooting from the field.

“It’s an honor to be a part of it,” Correa explained of her head coach achieving the feat.

“It’s such a great team around us, for us to get that win for him, we did it together.”

St. John’s basketball looking to string victories together

It has been a tough season for the Johnnies but the team is hoping this record can be something to rally around.

“I think this game taught us that we need to fight until the end…We just need to finish strong, that’s our big thing,” Correa added.

St. John’s will host Villanova (13-6, 7-3 Big East) on Friday afternoon after falling in heartbreaking fashion to the Wildcats back on January 2, 70-68, before hitting the road for a two game trip with a rematch against the Musketeers and Butler (1-17, 0-9 Big East).

“[I’m] proud that we will be able to continue what we started when I got here as an assistant. It’s been an honor to continue to lead the program, and [it] will continue to be an honor,” Tartamella added.

Tipoff between the Johnnies and Wildcats is slated for 2:00 p.m. (Big East Digital Network).