St. John's University Athletics
Women's Basketball Begins Four-Game Homestand Saturday Against Monmouth
12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Game Notes (PDF) | Live Audio | Live Statistics
The St. John???s women???s basketball team returns home to Queens for the first of four-straight contests at Carnesecca Arena. The Red Storm opens that stretch by meeting the Monmouth Hawks at 2 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 2. The game will be broadcast live over the internet at www.RedStormSports.com, with Ralph Bednarcyzk and Rod Hissong calling the action.
Noting St. John's
??? St. John???s (1-4, 0-0 BIG EAST) is coming off a 63-46 loss at Niagara Wednesday night. Sophomore Angel Tate, currently averaging a double-double for the Red Storm, led the team against the Purple Eagles with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The 6-2 forward from Birmingham, Ala., is averaging 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game through the Red Storm???s first five games, and leads the team with three double-doubles.
??? Leading the Red Storm in scoring is Tiina Sten, a junior from Turku, Finland. Sten had the best game of her career against Clemson (Nov. 24), scoring a career-high 27 points (9-for-11 FG, 7-7 FT). At 6-3, the versatile forward can spot up for the 3-point shot or bang with the big players down low, and with increased minutes in 2006-07 has made her presence known. She leads the team by averaging 14.6 points per game and is shooting better than 51 percent from the field.
??? The third player averaging double figures in scoring, Monique McLean, saw her first action of the year at the Dead River Company Classic (Nov. 24-25) after sitting out the first two games recovering from offseason knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. The sophomore sharpshooter immediately sparked the Red Storm offense, as she averaged 11.5 points per game over two games and hit 5-of-11 shots from 3-point land. Against Niagara, McLean scored in double digits for the third straight game, netting 13 points while contributing three steals.
??? Senior guard Kia Wright, a consensus preseason All-BIG EAST selection and All-America candidate, returned from a preseason ankle injury but re-aggravated an offseason sports hernia injury and is expected to miss Saturday???s game against Monmouth.
??? The Red Storm rookies have impressed early in the season, as Nikki Jo Rotolo, Joy McCorvey, Charisse Curtis and Allie Patterson have all seen significant minutes. Rotolo is averaging 7.2 points per game, but more impressively ranks third on the team in rebounding with 5.2 per game from her point guard position. McCorvey is second on the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, and Curtis leads the team by shooting nearly 47 percent from behind the 3-point line. Curtis, a walk-on from Silver Spring, Md., is averaging nearly 25 minutes per game and has provided the Red Storm solid perimeter play early in the season.
Red Storm Among The BIG EAST's Leaders
??? Wright has proven her playmaking skills early in the season, and currently leads the BIG EAST Conference in assists per game (6.0). Her 10 assists vs. Brown (11/25) also ties the best mark by any player in the league this year. The senior also ranks 11th for free throw percentage (.810).
??? Tate leads the league with 10.0 rebounds per game, and tied for 11th with 1.40 blocks per game.
??? McCorvey is tied for 17th with 7.6 rebounds per game and sixth for offensive rebounds with 3.20 per game.
??? Curtis is among the league???s best 3-point shooters as her .467 mark from long range ranks her fifth.
??? Sten is 16th in scoring (14.6 ppg).
A Look At Monmouth
??? The Hawks are 4-2 on the year after defeating Lehigh on Nov. 29, 71-65.
??? Jennifer Bender leads the team with 11.8 points per game, followed by Veronica Randolph with 10.0. The two also rank No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in rebounding, as Bender averages 7.3 caroms per game and Randolph grabs 5.5 per game.
??? St. John???s leads the all-time series with Monmouth, 3-0. Last year in New Jersey, the Red Storm was victorious, 72-55. In that game, Monique McLean and Kia Wright were both in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Welcome Back
??? Head coach Kim Barnes Arico, her staff and the university welcome back all women???s basketball alumni for the Annual Alumni Game prior to Sunday???s game.
