St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Heads To Vermont For Tournament
11/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
QUEENS, N.Y. - Red Storm Continues Road Trip The St. John's women's basketball team will continue its season-opening road trip this weekend when it travels to Burlington, Vt. to participate in the TD Banknorth Classic. The Red Storm will face NC State in the second game on Saturday, with tipoff slated for 2:30 p.m. On Sunday, St. John's will either play Brown or Vermont in the consolation game at 12:30 p.m. or the championship game at 2:30 p.m.
The Red Storm will be looking to carry its winning momentum from a 72-58 victory over Army on Nov. 13 in West Point, N.Y.
The meeting with NC State will be the first all-time between the teams. The No. 24-ranked Wolfpack will also be looking to add to its winning ways, as they have a 2-0 slate on the season, defeating UNC Greensboro, 74-29, on Nov. 11 and Appalachian State, 82-69, on Nov. 13.
There will be live stats for each game during the tournament on Vermont's website, uvmathletics.com. In addition, video of all four contests will be streamed over the Internet via B2 Networks for a pay-per-view price of $6. All Vermont games will have radio, which can be accessed for free on at SportsJuice.com.
A Look At The Field NC State is ranked No. 24 in the Coaches' Poll and is receiving votes in the AP Poll. The Wolfpack, who is the only ranked team in the tournament, is led by Khadijah Washington. The forward out of Roanoke, Va., is the only player to average a double-double with 24.5 points per game and 14.5 rebounds per game. She also has posted a team-best 12 steals on the season. Sophomore guard Nikitta Gartrell is the team's second leading scoring, netting 13.5 points per game. Her average is up from a year ago thanks to a significant rise in playing time. She is averaging 30.1 minutes per contest, up from last year's average of 14.3.
Host Vermont has split its two contests of the season. The Catamounts lost its season lidlifter by one point to UMass, 69-68, but rebounded to defeat Holy Cross, 54-44. Courtnay Pilypaitis leads all players with an average of 15.0 points and 6.5 rebounds. Sophomore Sofia Iwobi shined in the team's two opening contests, netting 12 points, six rebounds and six assists. Junior Amy Rosenkrantz reached double-figures in both games, scoring a team-high 15 points against UMass and netting 11 points against the Crusaders.
Brown started the 2007-08 campaign suffering consecutive losses. The Bears opened up against Providence on Nov. 9 with a 79-45 loss and then went on to drop a 85-41 decision to Quinnipiac. Brown is a very young squad, returning only one senior, point guard Annesley O'Neal. She is currently ranked second on the team in scoring, averaging 7.5 points per game. Sophomore Shae Fitzpatrick has taken the lead in scoring, averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. Also strong on the glass, she has pulled in 12 boards on the year, which is tops in that category.
Storm Report: Army Junior guard Monique McLean led three players in double-figures as the St. John's women's basketball team won its season-opening game, 72-58, against Army at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y. McLean got the team's offense going in the second half and scored 17 of her 21 points in the final stanza. She also came close to her first double-double of the year with a team-high eight rebounds. She also added five assists on the night.
To earn the victory, the Red Storm had to overcome an early deficit and then fight off a late Army come-back attempt. In the end, St. John's got its offense going and maintained its rhythm the remainder of the way, shooting 46.7 percent from the field, including a 53.3 mark in the second half.
The Black Knights opened up the first half with a 7-0 run. After St. John's scored four points to cut the deficit down to three, Nalini Hawkins extended Army's lead to five off a jumper. The Red Storm quickly responded as Angel Tate scored two on a layup, cutting the deficit down to three, 9-6.
After both teams traded baskets for a while, the Red Storm took its first lead after Recee Mitchell hit a pair of free throws at the 10:49 mark. The lead changed hands one more time and the score was tied before St. John's went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for the remainder of the way.
In the second half, Army came within two points of the lead when Cara Enright drained a three pointer with 8:52 remaining, but St. John's closed out strong and eventually jumped out to its largest lead of 17 points, 72-55, with 1:03 remaining.
Cleaning Up In The Second Half Junior Monique McLean took the game into her hands and cleaned up in the second half against Army. She not only led the team with 21 points, but she also put 17 on the scoreboard in the second stanza. She was 7-for-9 in that half and went on to shoot 47.1 percent.
Junior Newcomers Stepping Up The other big key to the St. John's victory against Army was the play of its junior transfers. Kelly McManmon got her first start in a Red Storm uniform and finished second on the squad with 13 points. Kristin Moore provided a spark off the bench and added 10 points, eight of which came in the final half.
The Bench Makes A Big Difference Bench points are key to every teams success and for the Red Storm it's no different. St. John's bench dominated in its first game of the season and provided a much needed offensive spark. The Red Storm bench scored 27 points, while Army's only scored eight.
Trips To The Charity Stripe Recee Mitchell took advantage of her six trips to the charity stripe against Army and converted five free throws. In addition, she hit two key free throws at the 10:49 mark in the opening half to give St. John's its first lead of the game. Mitchell wasn't the only one who capitalized on the free points. Monique McLean was perfect at the line, going 3-for-3, while Kristin Moore hit two free throws in as many chances.
Freshmen Debuts Two freshmen made their debuts in St. John's season opening game. Sky Lindsay, out of Christ the King High School, got the start at the point and saw action in 36.0 minutes. The Brooklyn native scored seven point, posted four assists and pulled down two rebounds. Centhya Hart saw action off the bench, playing 13.0 minutes. The graduate of Treadwell High assisted on one basket and tallied an offensive rebound.
10 Opponents In The Polls The Red Storm has another challenging schedule during the 2007-08 campaign. Through the Nov. 13 polls, 10 of the Red Storm opponents are either ranked in the top 25 or are receiving votes. The BIG EAST conference is poised again as one of the top leagues with eight of its teams listed. In addition, St. John's takes on NC State, who is ranked No. 24 and receiving votes, on Nov. 17 and then will host No. 13 Baylor on Dec. 22 at Carnesecca Arena.
Head Coach Featured In 201 Magazine Head coach Kim Barnes Arico was featured in the November issue of 201 Magazine, a monthly publication `highlighting the best of Bergen County.' Authored by longtime sportswriter and New York Yankees bear reporter Bob Klapisch, the story details Barnes Arico's coaching persona and recounts the turnaround of the St. John's women's basketball program during Barnes Arico's six-year tenure. It also features photos of Barnes Arico's coaching career and family.
Barnes Arico Selected To Inaugural Class of William Floyd Athletic Hall of Fame On Sept. 15, 2007, head coach Kim Barnes Arico was inducted into the William Floyd Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class of inductees.
A multi-sport athlete at William Floyd High School, in Mastic Beach, N.Y., Barnes Arico was an all-league and all-county basketball selection. She also set the single-season scoring record, averaging 22 points per game as a senior.
Barnes Arico graduated from William Floyd High School in 1988.
