St. John's University Athletics
Women's Basketball Sweeps BIG EAST Weekly Awards
1/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2009
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - St. John's women's basketball players Monique McLean and Da'Shena Stevens have swept the BIG EAST weekly awards. McLean was named player of the week and Stevens earned freshman of the week honors, as announced by the league Monday.
This is the first time under head coach Kim Barnes Arico and the first since Jan. 31, 2000, that St. John's garnered both BIG EAST weekly honors. The last time it happened, Latasha Thompson was named player of the week and Aiysha Smith was named rookie of the week.
McLean and Stevens led the Red Storm to a perfect 2-0 slate last week and extended its winning streak to six games for a 13-1, 1-0 record on the year. The team picked up a 74-66 win over Boston University on Dec. 30 and opened BIG EAST action on Jan. 3 at Madison Square Garden with a 57-52 victory over Providence. In addition, the duo's efforts helped STJ receive five votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll released on Jan. 5.
McLean averaged a team-high 27.0 points per game and shot 48.5 from the field, in addition to leading the way from 3-point range, connecting on 8-of-13 to shoot 61.5. The guard paced the team with four steals and finished with the second-highest rebounding average of 7.0. McLean scored 20-plus points in consecutive games and set a new season-high with 28 points against Providence. Against BU, the senior posted a team-high 26 points and tied for the team-best with eight rebounds. On the season, she leads the Red Storm in scoring with 18.6 ppg and is the third-leading rebounder with 6.3 rpg. This is the second-straight honor for the senior, who was named the PrestoSports/Met Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Player of the Week on Dec. 23.
Stevens came close to averaging a double-double with 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds to finish as the team's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer. The freshman shot 45.8 from the field, going 11-of-24. She also had three steals and finished the week with a team-high two blocks. Against Boston, she had 13 of her 18 points in the second half and tied McLean for the team-high with eight rebounds. In her first-ever BIG EAST game, the freshman had a strong performance at Madison Square Garden and finished with a team-high 11 rebounds and added 10 points for her third double-double of the year. On the season, she is the team's second-leading scorer with 11.5 ppg and is the leading rebounder with 7.8 rpg. This is the second freshman of the week honor for Stevens.
St. John's will return to action on Saturday when it travels to face the University of South Florida at 7 p.m.
