St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Women's Basketball 2007-08 Outlook
11/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 5, 2007
QUEENS, N.Y. - With all five starters and eight letterwinners returning from last year's team that advanced to a fourth-straight BIG EAST Tournament under head coach Kim Barnes Arico, St. John's is primed for a return to postseason play and continued success in arguably the toughest conference in the nation.
Led by senior and three-time All-BIG EAST selection Kia Wright, along with fellow senior Tiina Sten and honorable mention All-BIG EAST honoree junior Monique McLean, the Red Storm roster features seven returners that averaged at least 13 minutes a game.
Seniors Wright and Sten, along with fellow tri-captain Joy McCorvey, will be called upon to lead a mixture of veterans and underclassmen back to a third postseason appearance (WNIT 2005, NCAA 2006) during the Barnes Arico Era.
"We have everyone returning, which is exciting," Barnes Arico says. "We also have a lot of youth and new faces. We have great kids in our program so I'm really looking forward to this season. We once again have something to prove."
Backcourt
Wright, McLean, Nikki Jo Rotolo and Charisse Curtis return with experience at the guard positions. Despite fighting through injuries most of last season, Wright still put together an All-BIG EAST season, averaging 14.0 points per game and leading the league with 5.5 assists per game. One of the most dynamic guards in the country, Wright returns for her final season in a Red Storm uniform and is already one of the all-time greats in the program. Last season she recorded her 1,000th-career point and is currently No. 10 on St. John's all-time scoring charts.
"Seeing Kia mature to where she is today as a fifth-year senior is really rewarding for me," Barnes Arico says. "She's taken steps to grow, mature and develop as a player and a person. She put St. John's women's basketball on the map and will always be a part of our history and us turning that corner."
McLean, meanwhile, had a breakout sophomore season and led the team by averaging 15.7 points per game. At season's end, she garnered honorable mention All-BIG EAST honors after notching four double-doubles and four 20-plus point efforts.
Rotolo appeared in all 28 of the Red Storm's games last year and averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, while Curtis walked on to the squad and played in 20 games, starting three.
Sophomore Kelly McManmon becomes eligible this season after sitting out a year following a transfer from Indiana University. She played in seven games for the Hoosiers and came out of Lee High School in Lee, Mass.
New faces joining the backcourt this season are Sky Lindsay (Brooklyn, N.Y./Christ The King), Centhya "Coco" Hart (Memphis, Tenn./Treadwell), Sheree Ledbetter (Baltimore Md./South Side Academy) and Kristin Moore (Irving, Texas/Tyler Junior College).
Lindsay, a highly touted guard out of perennial powerhouse Christ The King High School in Queens, earned high school All-America honors in 2006 from Street & Smith Magazine and also garnered MSG All-City and All-Queens status during her illustrious prep career.
Hart led Treadwell High School by averaging 21.0 points, 16.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, while Ledbetter averaged 20.0 points and 14.0 rebounds for South Side Academy in Baltimore, Md.
Barnes Arico points out the tenacity of the freshmen class and expects them to make immediate impacts on the squad.
Moore, meanwhile, is a junior out of Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. Her standout career for the Apaches included a 28-8 record and NJCAA Division I Women's Tournament appearance during her final year. She was named to the All-Tournament team that year and averaged 12.2 points and 3.3 assists for TJC.
Frontcourt
Angel Tate returns in the post as the player with the most experience after averaging 30.7 minutes per game and nearly a double-double with 9.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Joining her is the versatile senior Sten, who has the ability to spot up for the 3-point shot or post up in the paint. Sten had her best season to date last year with 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
McCorvey, meanwhile, burst onto the conference scene with a fantastic rookie season. She started 26 out of 28 games and averaged 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Her all-out, hustling style of play and leadership qualities led Barnes Arico to name her the team's third captain for 2007-08.
Sophomore Recee Mitchell is the fourth player with game experience. She battled back from a preseason shoulder injury and appeared in 18 games. Fellow sophomore Victoria Hodges, meanwhile, sat out last season with a foot injury but looks to add depth to the post positions this season.
"We have goals and expectations every year, but our number one thing is to get better everyday and keep working hard," Barnes Arico says. "We try not to put it on wins or losses and as a coach you never want to get too high or too low. We've got to continue to work hard as a coaching staff and program to get back to our goal which is the NCAA Tournament."
The Schedule
Highlighting the St. John's women's basketball team's 2007-08 schedule will be non-conference match-ups with national powerhouses Baylor (Dec. 22, Carnesecca Arena) and NC State (Nov. 17, University of Vermont Tournament) and the typical BIG EAST schedule that includes home opponents Notre Dame, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Marquette, South Florida, Seton Hall, Villanova and Louisville.
"The league is tremendous and that's shown every year by the number of teams that make postseason play," Barnes Arico says. "It's going to be even tougher this season because a lot of teams have almost everyone back. We always play a competitive schedule against a lot of teams that have been to the NCAA Tournament."
