St. John's University Athletics
Women's Basketball Travels To Miami For Thanksgiving Tournament
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's women's basketball team will leave the cold Northeast weather and head to the Sunshine State for the FIU Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 27-29. The Red Storm will open action on Friday when it faces Florida at 7 p.m., and will face either FIU or St. Joseph's on Sunday at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m.
• All tournament games will feature a live video stream and live stats that can be accessed on FIUSports.com.
History Lesson
• The contest between St. John's and Florida will be the first meeting in history between the teams. FIU and the Red Storm have faced each other once, with the Golden Panthers winning the initial contest, 64-55, in Queens on Dec. 30, 1995. St. John's and St. Joseph's have never played each other.
Scouting The Gators
• The Gators enter the tournament with a 2-2 record. UF won its season opener, 85-63, against Stetson on Nov. 14, before losing two straight to Florida State, 66-62, and Pittsburgh, 81-58. Florida snapped its losing streak with a 75-39 victory over UAB in its last outing on Nov. 24. Two players are averaging double figures in scoring. Jordan Jones leads the team with 13.3 points per game, shooting 38.3 percent from the field. Sharielle Smith is the second-leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points, and she is pacing the way in rebounding with an 8.3 average. Clutch Off The Bench
• Centhya Hart has opened the 2009-10 campaign with strong performances off the bench in STJ's first three games. On Nov. 15 against Stony Brook, the junior contributed nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes of action. She went on to have the best scoring performance of her career against UMass on Nov. 18, dropping 14 points on a 5-of-9 effort from the field and a 4-of-4 effort from the charity stripe. The Memphis, Tenn., native also chipped in five rebounds and two assists in the victory. In STJ's home opener on Nov. 21, Hart posted her first-career double-double with a 10-point, 12-rebound performance in the team's 80-63 victory over Boston University. In 20 minutes of action, she was 4-of-8 from the field, 2-of-5 from the charity stripe and grabbed seven offensive and five defensive rebounds.
Five Score 10 Or More Over BU
• Five Red Storm players scored 10 or more points against BU on Nov. 21. Da'Shena Stevens led the way with 15 points, going 7-of-10 from the field and 1-of-3 from the charity stripe. Joy McCorvey, Shenneika Smith and Nadirah McKenith contributed 12 points each. McCorvey was 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Smith was 5-of-13 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and McKenith was 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-7 from the charity stripe. Hart rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points on a 4-of-8 effort from the field and a 2-of-5 effort from the free-throw line.
Did You Know...
• St. John's has opened up a season with a 3-0 record eight times, including four during the Barnes Arico tenure.
Stat Of The Week
• 37: Points the Red Storm bench scored in the 80-63 win over BU on Nov. 21.
On Deck
• The Red Storm will return to Queens and host Stetson on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. The meeting is the first in history between the teams.
