St. John's University Athletics
2004-05 St. John's Women's Basketball Season Preview
11/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 3, 2004
The St. John's women's basketball team has seen steady improvement over the course of head coach Kim Barnes Arico's two seasons. After a small step forward in her first season, the 2003-04 season was one of the most exciting seasons in recent years, culminating in their return to the BIG EAST Tournament, after missing the field for the last three seasons.
The 2004-05 squad returns only five letterwinners and two starters from last year's team, but welcomes in a promising class of seven newcomers. Highlighting the returnees is sophomore Angela Clark, who finished the season second on the team in points with 12.1 per game and first in rebounds with 8.6 per contest. Clark, a unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman team selection, will be relied upon to step up and play a more prominent role in the Red Storm offense.
Clark, along with graduate student Kati Kurtosi and junior Danielle Chambers, will provide the Red Storm with quality depth in the frontcourt. Kurtosi is coming off her best season as a member of the Red Storm, having started all 29 games at center. She averaged 6.4 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.4% (71-for-160) from the field.
"Kati is our most experienced player," said Barnes Arico of Kurtosi. "She had a great season last year, but we're expecting her to step up offensively and defensively in the post and have an even better year."
After missing the first eight games of the season to fulfill NCAA transfer requirements, Chambers made an immediate impact in the paint, posting two double-doubles and three double-figure rebounding performances in her first six games. She finished the season second on the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game and fifth in points averaging 8.4 per outing.
"Danielle has worked hard and gotten herself in terrific shape during the offseason," said Barnes Arico. "She is very quick and explosive inside and could be one of the top rebounders in the league."
Graduation hit the Red Storm backcourt hard, as they lost leading scorer Kim MacMillan and three-year starter Shemika Stevens, who both started all 28 games last season. The only returnees from last year's squad, juniors Dana Petersen and Mercedes Dukes, saw limited time behind MacMillan and Stevens, but are expected to play an increased role this year. Petersen appeared in 26 games, averaging 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game.
"Dana continues to be one of the hardest workers on the team and she is expected to step up and be a leader on and off the court this season," said Barnes Arico.
Meanwhile, Dukes, who had to sit out the first semester to fulfill transfer requirements, saw action in 15 games off the bench, scoring 0.9 points per game, but brings intensity on the defensive end for St. John's.
"Mercedes is our quickest and most explosive player and will be one of our top defenders," Barnes Arico said of Dukes. "Her speed makes her very tough to stop in transition."
Four transfers - Greeba Barlow, Chelsey Thompson, Tara Walker, and Kia Wright - along with three freshmen: Jenn Jones, Tiina Sten and Andrea Peterson, have all been brought in by Barnes Arico for the 2004-05 season to add depth in both the backcourt and the frontcourt. Barlow, who sat out the 2003-04 season at St. John's fulfilling NCAA transfer requirements, averaged 5.0 points per game as a sophomore at George Washington in 2002-03.
"Greeba brings experience, having participated in the NCAA Tournament in 2002," said Barnes Arico. "She can play at either guard position and her ability to shoot from long range will make her a threat during the season."
Thompson and Walker are both new to St. John's this season. Thompson, a 5-11 guard, averaged 21 points per game, finishing ninth overall in scoring in D1 Junior College and leading The Globe Institute to the regional finals in 2003-04.
"Chelsey is a vocal, hard-working athlete and she pushes her teammates each day in practice," Barnes Arico said of Thompson. "She is an experienced guard and is expected to contribute to our young backcourt."
Walker comes to St. John's after spending her last two years at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY, where she helped lead the Lady Tribunes to the NJCAA Division II National Championship.
"Tara is a strong and tough player. She can shoot the three and create her own shots off the dribble. If she plays to her potential, she will have an unbelievable year."
Wright will be new to the St. John's women's basketball program for this season as well. A standout at Copiague High School, she also missed last season due to NCAA Transfer requirements. At Copiague, Wright became the fifth-leading scorer in Long Island girls history with 2,148 points and was the 2002 Suffolk County Player of the Year after averaging 24.3 points and 8.3 rebounds as a junior.
"After sitting out for a year, Kia is ready to take the conference by storm," Barnes Arico boasted of Wright. "She can play multiple positions, is a top notch defender, and has a great feel for the game," Barnes Arico said.
Jones, Sten and Peterson all signed with St. John's during the November signing period in 2003. The Steuben County (NY) Player of the Year, Jones averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks per game at Arkport High School. The 6-0 forward/center was a member of the All-Rochester First team, the Empire State Western Team and was named the Class D Most Valuable Player.
Sten will bring extensive international experience to this year's team, having been a member of the Finnish National Team. She was named the Most Valuable Player in the Scandanavian Championship Tournament of National Teams in 2003.
"We are expecting big things from our two freshmen post players," said Barnes Arico of Jones and Sten. "Jenn is our strongest athlete and is expected to help us on the defensive end and on the boards. Like Jenn, Tiina will see significant minutes, as she brings international experience and is capable of playing multiple positions."
Peterson led the Archbishop Carroll girls basketball team to the Philadelphia Catholic League Playoff Championship last season, averaging 8.8 points and 5.6 assists per game from. The standout point guard was named to the 2003 Daily Times All-Delco girls basketball team.
"Although she is just a freshman, Andrea possesses a champions mentality and brings leadership when she's on the floor," Barnes Arico said. "She is a hard-nosed player who refuses to lose."
The 2004 non-conference schedule includes two early season tournaments, one at St. Bonaventure, where the Red Storm will face Canisius in the first round, and the second at UNC-Wilmington, where Norfolk State will be St. John's first opponent. The 2004-05 home slate opens with Hofstra on December 1 and also includes ACC power Georgia Tech and Holy Cross.
Each year the Red Storm battle with the best teams in the Nation during the BIG EAST Conference regular season. This season is no different as St. John's opens up league play when defending National Champion Connecticut visits Alumni Hall on January 2. The January portion of the conference schedule continues with home contests against Rutgers, Seton Hall and Syracuse and road games versus Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Seton Hall.
St. John's hosts Pittsburgh and Georgetown and shares a home-and-home match-up with Providence, in addition to road games at Boston College, West Virginia and Villanova all in the month of February.
The BIG EAST regular season concludes on March 1 when Boston College travels to Alumni Hall. The 2005 BIG EAST Tournament, which returns to the Hartford Civic Center for the second-straight season, will take place from March 5-8. The Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN.
