St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Women's Basketball Announces 2006-07 Schedule
9/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Highlighting the St. John???s University women???s basketball team???s 2006-07 schedule will be a home contest against Connecticut at Madison Square Garden, a first round game at Carnesecca Arena in the Preseason WNIT and match-ups with 14 opponents that advanced to last year???s postseason, the university announced Thursday.
???Our schedule is again very tough,??? head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. ???I feel that we play in the top conference in the country, the BIG EAST, and it???s challenging when you add to that the Preseason WNIT with some of the greatest programs in the country along with a regular season that includes teams like North Carolina and Hartford.???
Fresh off its second round NCAA Tournament appearance and 22-8 overall record in 2005-06, St. John???s returns leading scorers, first team All-BIG EAST selections and All-America candidates Angela Clark and Kia Wright in addition to Red Storm junior Tiina Sten and sophomores Monique McLean, Lisa Claxton and Angel Tate. Six newcomers complete the 2006-07 Red Storm squad.
Head coach and 2006 BIG EAST Coach of the Year, Barnes Arico, returns for her fifth season at the helm of St. John???s. Since her arrival, Barnes Arico has catapulted the Red Storm onto the national scene and led last year???s team to its first national ranking in more than 20 years, in addition to a first round NCAA Tournament victory for the first time since 1988.
The 2006-07 campaign gets underway on Nov. 9, when the Red Storm hosts Iona in the first round of the prestigious Preseason Women???s National Invitation Tournament following a Nov. 2 exhibition game against Team adidas Elite. The field for the Preseason WNIT includes 11 teams that played in the postseason last year, and three former NCAA national champions.
Baylor, BYU, Dartmouth, Hartford, NC State, Purdue, St. John???s and Stanford played in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, while Belmont, Hofstra and Idaho State participated in the Postseason WNIT. High Point, Iona, Loyola-Marymount, North Texas and Wichita State round out the Preseason WNIT field.
The Red Storm hosts Army on Nov. 19 before heading to the University of Maine???s Tournament to face ACC foe Clemson (Nov. 24), and either Brown or the host Bears (Nov. 25).
Non-conference tilts follow at Niagara (Nov. 29) and against Monmouth (Dec. 2) and Hartford (Dec. 4) before St. John???s opens up BIG EAST play on Dec. 7 against Syracuse.
The Red Storm then steps back out of conference play for games vs. Nicholls State (Dec. 10) and at Boston University (Dec. 17) then heads to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a matchup with perennial powerhouse North Carolina on Dec. 20.
???What a wonderful opportunity to play against a team like North Carolina,??? Barnes Arico said. ???It should be fun and exciting and something our players really look forward to.???
Following the holiday break, the Red Storm plays a final non-conference game at Stony Brook on Dec. 30 before beginning the heart of the BIG EAST schedule.
The Red Storm begins with games against BIG EAST defending regular-season champion Rutgers (Jan. 2), Georgetown (Jan. 4), at Pittsburgh (Jan. 13) and at Notre Dame (Jan. 16)
Then, on Jan. 21, St. John???s will continue what has become an exciting tradition for the women???s basketball program and play a BIG EAST game against Connecticut in The World???s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden.
???One of the greatest experiences for the players in our program is to be able to play at Madison Square Garden,??? Barnes Arico said. ???It is the home of some of the greatest basketball players of all time, both men and women. For us to have the opportunity to walk on that floor and represent St. John???s University and have it as our home floor is an honor. When our kids step on that court, they enjoy the experience and they look forward to it from the moment they decide to come to St. John???s.???
The Red Storm then hits the road for a game at Villanova (Jan. 27), followed by a home contest against DePaul (Jan. 30). Road match-ups at South Florida (Feb. 3) and West Virginia (Feb. 6) precede a game against Providence (Feb. 10) in Carnesecca Arena and the first of two games against Marquette (Feb. 13) in Milwaukee.
After hosting Cincinnati on Feb. 17, the Red Storm wraps up its away schedule at Louisville (Feb. 20) and Seton Hall (Feb. 24). The second match-up of the year with Marquette will be Feb. 26 at Carnesecca Arena.
The 2006 BIG EAST Tournament will be held March 3-6 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn.
Tickets to St. John???s women???s basketball games can be purchased online or by calling the St. John???s Ticket Office at 1-888-GO-Storm.
All game times and radio/television broadcast information will be announced at a later date.
